The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Grizzlies by nine points in yesterday's game and failed to extend their previous four-game winning streak. Although the record of five wins and two losses in the seven games that began at the end of December has filled the pit of the record dug by the previous five consecutive losses, the situation of the Lakers obviously cannot make the management sit back and relax. After five straight losses in mid-December, the Lakers welcomed back most of the injured, forming a complete lineup except for Davis and Nunn, who were two long-term sick numbers. The team has also developed a certain chemistry during this time, and has a lot of confidence against weak teams. But the Goal of the Lakers, who make up the Big Three this summer, is clearly not just to maintain a winning percentage in the regular season and enter the playoffs, if they want to compete for the championship, their current strength and status are far from the same. Since the beginning of December, the Lakers have been looking for potential targets in the trading market. Over time, it looks like the Lakers are getting closer to completing the mid-season deal fans have been waiting for.
Earlier on January 10, local time, well-known NBA journalist Shams Charania issued news about the deal of Pacers center Turner. According to Shams, Pacers center Turner is "very close to leaving the team in the near future," while the Lakers, along with the Hornets, Lone Rangers and Knicks, are the closest team to the young interior. Turner, 25, is 2.11 meters tall and has an arm span of 2.24 meters and is a full-size interior liner. After entering the league in 2015, Turner took the position of the Pacers' main center step by step, and his interior combination with Sabonis Jr. once played quite well. After the Pacers decided to rebuild, both Turner and Sabonis were put on the shelf by the team as Brogdon could not be traded. Turner's current contract, which lasts until the 2022-2023 season, has one year to go before, and is on an annual salary of $17.5 million, making it not difficult for most teams to match success.
Turner is a very solid interior player who has both the under-basket threat of a traditional center and the excellent shooting ability to adapt to modern basketball. So far this season, Turner has made all 39 starts, averaging 13 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2.9 blocks in 29.7 minutes per game. Not only did he shoot more than 50 percent from the field, he also averaged 1.6 three-pointers from 35.7 percent per game. In addition to opening up space on the offensive end, Turner also shoots 67.9% from the basket and has the top finishing ability in the league. On the defensive end, Turner averaged 2.9 blocks per game to top the league. It is worth mentioning that Turner was the NBA block king last season. In addition to his excellent ability on the field, Turner's physical fitness is also very good, the attendance rate of the game is very prominent, and he is not a "glass man".
For the Los Angeles Lakers, their plans to put Davis in the fifth position at the beginning of the season have been shelved. Rather than gaining weight in hand-to-hand combat on the inside, Davis prefers more flexible handroom on the offensive end after receiving the ball on the flanks, while the defensive end waits for an opportunity to make up for it on the bottom line rather than a frontal frame. Under such circumstances, the lakers' two interior lines, Jordan and Howard, obviously do not meet the standards of the Lakers' starting center. According to media forecasts, the Lakers have two options for trading Turner. The first was packing Tucker, Nunn and the 27-year first-round swap between Turner and Duarte. The second was to trade Westbrook for Turner and Sabonis. Do fans and friends think Turner's arrival will give the Lakers a brighter future? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!