Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the Los Angeles Lakers’ reported interest in Buddy Hield, it looks like the sharpshooting Bahamian will not be headed to join the purple and gold, as the Lakers were unwilling to meet the Indiana Pacers’ asking price of two unprotected first-round picks.

The Lakers and Pacers engaged in trade conversations this week per @ShamsCharania.

Los Angeles was unwilling to part with two unprotected first-round picks for any deal involving Buddy Hield or Myles Turner.

🎥 @TheRallypic.twitter.com/fZa29iromA

— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) September 21, 2022

The Athletic likewise reported as such just six days ago:

The Lakers’ desire to land the Pacers’ Buddy Hield has also been well-chronicled, with the former Kings guard nearly coming their way via trade last summer. The 29-year-old 3-point specialist has been a focal point in the Lakers’ offseason talks with Indiana as well — alongside Myles Turner — but a deal is not expected on that front.

Still, with the Pacers in somewhat of a rebuild, look for the speculation on Hield’s future to continue over the coming weeks and into the trade deadline, if he’s not dealt by then.

For the latest Buddy Hield rumors, click here.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a while since Jae Crowder has been included in our trade rumors rankings series, but the Phoenix Suns swingman has re-emerged on this week’s edition of the list.

That’s because ESPN reported this week that the Suns have been talking shop around the league, with Crowder’s name coming up in a lot of the discussions:

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst appearing Monday on NBA Today, the Suns are actively in trade discussions around the league — particularly dangling veteran forward Jae Crowder. “They are very active in this last week conducting business,” Windhorst said. “They’re in trade negotiations right now. A lot of them are centered around Jae Crowder. Jae Crowder is a player who is available on the market right now.”

That was followed up by the Miami Herald reporting that Crowder would welcome a return to the Miami Heat, with the fit making sense there as the Heat lost PJ Tucker this offseason and appear short on power forwards heading into 2022-23:

The Miami Heat have now emerged as a potential destination for Crowder, who himself was part of the team’s NBA Finals run in the bubble. According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, word on the street is that Crowder “would welcome a return to the Heat.”

As Phoenix has turmoils elsewhere it is dealing with at the moment, it’ll be interesting to see if shot-calling James Jones pulls off a deal for Crowder over the coming days or weeks.

For the latest Jae Crowder rumors, click here.

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

A lot of the talk surrounding Russell Westbrook has been much ado about nothing, with one report indicating that the point guard and former league MVP may be coming off the bench next season after the additions of Dennis Schroeder and Patrick Beverley.

Outside of that, it’s been more of the same about Westbrook, with reports repeating what we’ve been hearing all summer, that the Lakers would be open to trading him but are hesitant to attach future first-round picks just to do so.

There was one report that was interesting regarding the San Antonio Spurs and Westbrook, which came from SpursTalk. It said that San Antonio is one of the few teams interested in taking on Westbrook’s salary, but – and here’s the shocking part so sit down if you’re reading this – they’d want future first-round picks from the Lakers to do that:

At one point in time, the Spurs were in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers to absorb Russell Westbrook’s contract. In that scenario, San Antonio was to be compensated with multiple draft picks. Currently, a source close to the Spurs says the two teams are no longer engaged in active talks due to the Lakers preferring offers by both the Pacers and the Jazz. According to a Western Conference scout, the Lakers are telling teams that they will take a wait and see approach to trading Westbrook as training camp approaches. If the Lakers decide to trade Westbrook at some point down the line, the Spurs remain one of the few teams in the league open to such a deal

We’ll see if a Westbrook deal comes to fruition or not. The additions of two other veteran point guards made it seem like Westbrook’s time with the Lakers is done, but with Los Angeles unwilling to part with major draft assets – and with good reason – it’s hard to see that happening.

For the latest Russell Westbrook rumors, click here.

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The same report from before that we discussed about Hield and the Lakers also applies to Myles Turner, as the Lakers reportedly had a strong interest in the floor-spacing big man, too, but were unwilling to part with valuable draft assets to make a move happen.

So it looks like Turner, after years of trade rumors surrounding his name, will remain in Indiana through yet another offseason. Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan went so far as to tell a local radio station that Turner will start the 2022-23 season as a Pacer.

Pacers GM Chad Buchanan said this morning on @1075thefan that Myles Turner will be their starting center on opening night, officially ending the potential Lakers trade talks.

— Evan Sidery (@esidery) September 21, 2022

Turner has unique talent and ability but hasn’t been able to turn it into becoming an All-Star-level player. Maybe this season, with Tyrese Haliburton around to set him up and Domantas Sabonis now with the Sacramento Kings, Turner will be able to post a career year.

The Pacers will be hoping so, at least, after another offseason of denying trade attempts for the former Texas standout.

For the latest Myles Turner rumors, click here.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The trade of Bogdanovic by the Jazz opened the door to even more speculation that Jordan Clarkson, a former Sixth Man of the Year with the club in Utah, could be out the door next.

Clarkson, on his end, isn’t stressing the rumors, telling Complex the following when asked about potentially being traded:

While Clarkson’s name has been floating around in trade rumors as well lately, he is ready to do whatever it takes to win, no matter what team he ends up starting the season with. Jordan Clarkson: “I’m ready for whatever happens,” says Clarkson. “If I’m in a different jersey in a week or tomorrow I get a phone call and I have to put on whatever jersey it is, I’m just trying to win and take whatever team it is to the next level to hopefully win a championship one day.

Even so, it appears that the team is ready to hold on to Clarkson and considers him a potential short-term piece for the upcoming campaign:

While Bogdanovic (and new Jazzmen Lauri Markkanen and Simone Fontecchio) have been busy with Eurobasket, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson both have been present at the Jazz’s practice facility. The Jazz’s front office has been clear that they consider both players to be potential short-term pieces of the Jazz this season.

That sounds like a team trying to force interested trading partners to up their offers by saying: ‘We’re glad to keep this player if we don’t get an offer we see as appropriate.’

We’ll see if that ploy ends up working for the Jazz.

For the latest Jordan Clarkson rumors, click here.