A new trade pitch has the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers swapping a handful of rotation pieces, with Heavy Sports floating a deal that would send Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jay Huff to Los Angeles in exchange for Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaden Hardy, Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht.
The idea, as laid out by Sai Mohan, leans on Indiana’s track record of making players fit specific jobs. He pointed to Vanderbilt and LaRavia as the kind of vets who could work in a system built around pace, while Hardy could benefit from playing behind Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard and T.J.
McConnell. Knecht, meanwhile, was described as a shooter who might need a fresh start after two quiet seasons with the Lakers, where playing time has been hard to come by.
Mohan also framed the move as a manageable financial play for Indiana. Under the proposal, the Pacers would take on three expiring salaries plus Vanderbilt, who has a player option next year, making it, in his view, “not a very risky proposition.”
The money involved is straightforward enough. Vanderbilt is set to make $12,428,571 next season, Hardy will make $6 million, LaRavia is on a $6 million deal in the final year of his contract and Knecht is due $4,201,080.
On the Pacers’ side, the bigger picture is tied to Tyrese Haliburton’s return. Indiana is expected to be back in the playoff mix next season with Haliburton back after missing the previous year while recovering from the Achilles tendon tear he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pacers are projected to be led by Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac in 2026-27. Even after a 19-win season without their top player, there’s still confidence around the franchise. Haliburton’s father, John, said he expects the team to be “right at the top” again next season.
“I expect them right at the top,” John told Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson. “I'm not going to lie to you.
If you know basketball and you've been paying attention, you know that all of our rookies and second-year players got a chance to really go out there and grow through this run. They got a chance to experience the game at the highest level, slow it down, and understand exactly what it takes to win.
“Now, by the time Tyrese gets back on the floor, these young guys have already been through the fire. So you tell me-what is going to stop them from going to the top?
New York won the championship this year, but they won it because Indiana wasn't fully standing in their way at the very end. Next year, with Tyrese back, Indiana will be standing right there.”
For all the pieces in the proposal, the chances of this exact Lakers-Pacers deal actually happening are described as extremely slim. Still, in a league that has already seen the Lakers land Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics move Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, nothing feels completely off the table anymore.
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