Report: Lakers-Pacers blockbuster trade 'currently dead'

Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook is reportedly on the trade block. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Proposed Lakers-Pacers blockbuster trade 'currently dead'

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 7/22/22

Regardless of where he may end up next, some recent reports have indicated that former league MVP Russell Westbrook has played his final game in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. In the Eastern Conference, it's been heavily rumored that both defensive menace Myles Turner and sharpshooter Buddy Hield will be moved by the Indiana Pacers at some point this summer as well.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Dave McMenamin said that the Pacers and Lakers had "re-engaged" in trade talks involving Hield — and perhaps Turner and Westbrook. On Friday morning, Bob Kravitz gave an update on the situation, and it seems like the pendulum of negotiations has swung yet again.

Per source, the Lakers-Pacers trade involving Russell Westbrook, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and other assets is currently dead. That's not to say the Lakers can't come back and add a second first-round pick to the current package of picks, but for now, things are at a standstill.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) July 22, 2022

Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steal per contest during his first season with the Lakers and exercised his $47.1 million option in June, presumably setting him up to "run it back" with Anthony Davis, LeBron James and company. New Lakers coach Darvin Ham recently said that he has a "clear plan" on how he'll utilize Westbrook and feels that the point guard is "going to flourish."

Indiana already traded former Rookie of the Year guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics at the start of July, and if talks with Los Angeles pick back up, another blockbuster could still be on the horizon.

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