According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers are signing veteran big man Alex Len to a contract after he was recently waived by the Sacramento Kings in the aftermath of their trade-deadline dealings. Len will now join a depleted center rotation in Los Angeles, as Anthony Davis was moved in the Luka Doncic trade.
Len hasn’t cracked the 10-minute-per-game mark since the 2012-22 season, but he’s given the Kings some solid spot minutes at times. The Lakers’ pursuit of Len on the buyout market evidently came at the expense of the Indiana Pacers, who were set to sign Len before LA’s trade for Mark Williams was rescinded, opening up an opportunity.
And with the move, the Lakers’ long-time flirtation with another Pacers big man took a hilarious turn.
Lakers stealing Alex Len from Pacers after years of Myles Turner rumors is hilarious
Indiana has been dealt a rough hand with injuries this year, particularly at the center position. Behind Myles Turner, they have lost both Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman to torn Achilles.
In response, they signed Moses Brown to a 10-day contract before trading for Thomas Bryant in a deal with the Miami Heat. Still, that doesn’t leave them with many options, and Len was set to provide them some much-needed support.
Instead, Len will now head to LA, despite the fact that the Lakers have reportedly been interested in a trade for his could-have-been teammate, Turner.
It feels as though Turner has been involved in trade rumors since the dawn of time. And where there are trade rumors, the Lakers will be present. That was certainly the case with Turner over the years.
After this year’s deadline, Turner even posted a Survivor meme to his social media—a nod to the fact that he remains in Indiana after another (very crazy) deadline.
But year after year, whether it was Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Dennis Schroder, or Talen Horton-Tucker rumored to be thrown in the deal, the Lakers were reportedly interested in trading for Turner.
His floor-spacing and shot-blocking would have paired nicely alongside Davis, who long begged the Lakers to trade for a center so he could return to playing the power forward position.
Turner is still a member of the Pacers. The Lakers could not steal him away. Instead, they stole the guy who was slated to give Turner some support. Now, Len will be a Laker, and Turner and Bryant will be left to fend for themselves in Indiana’s frontcourt (for now).
