Myles Turner makes trade case as LeBron James, LA nab first W

In an appearance on The Woj Pod, Myles Turner himself made the case for why LeBron James and the Lakers would benefit from his acquisition.

It only took six games, but the 2022-23 iteration of the Los Angeles Lakers has done the unthinkable: win a basketball game! Off the backs of motivated performances from LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, the Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets, 121-110, putting off fan unrest for at least the next few days. However, if their season heads south at some point, the Lakers may want to revisit a potential trade with the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner.

In fact, in an appearance on The Woj Pod, Turner himself made the case for why the Lakers would benefit immensely from his acquisition. (h/t Reddit user Kimi7)

“If I’m the Lakers, I take a very hard look at this with the position that you are in, and I know I can provide to a team my leadership, my shot blocking, my three-point ability and just my ability to make plays out there on the floor. I would take a very long look at it,” Turner said. “I think that another aspect that is playing with greatness and playing under LeBron, I feel like he demands certain level of excellency especially at this point of his career.”

For all of the help he could provide the Lakers on the court, Myles Turner knows that a move to one of the NBA's most preeminent big-market teams will also be a huge boon to his career, ready to embrace the double-edged sword that comes with playing for perhaps the league's most vocal fanbase.

“Just playing in the bigger market, I just feel like here in the Midwest we don’t get the love that I think we deserve. […] You are under the microscope out there at the West, when you are doing bad you going to hear about it. When you are doing great you are going to get a lot of love, especially with the love that Lakers get,” Turner added.

Turner knows that the clock is ticking on the Pacers to strike a deal anyway, what with him being in the last year of the four-year, $80 million extension he signed back in 2018.

“I know that, coming into a contract year, you can’t lose me for anything. They can’t have the notion of me playing out this year, they don’t trade me, and […] let’s say free agency comes around, and I don’t resign here,” Turner said.

At the end of the day, it remains to be seen, however, if it is worth mortgaging the Lakers' future on the likes of Myles Turner (and Buddy Hield) for a mere quick fix.