Lakers Trade Target Watch: Myles Turner reportedly changes agents

In updates that make you go “hmmm,” long-rumored Lakers trade target Myles Turner is apparently switching agents in the middle of a career year, and ahead of the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline.

Veteran NBA insider Marc Stein was the first to break the news that the Indiana Pacers big man is likely heading to Creative Artists Agency:

As an aside, it is hilarious that this news came out in the middle of the Pacers’ game against the Brooklyn Nets. I am assuming Turner didn’t make his decision at halftime, but it is funny to imagine him scribbling his signature in a Docusign request on his iPad while Rick Carlisle goes over potential third-quarter adjustments. Distracted or not, Turner continued his great season so far on Friday, dropping 23 points while shooting 2-3 from behind the arc, grabbing 8 rebounds and swatting two shots in the team’s victory over Brooklyn. Fellow possible #FutureLaker Buddy Hield hit five triples of his own and scored 26.

Now, more earnestly, does this necessarily mean anything for the Lakers? No, not really. Players switch agents all the time, and before an impending free agency period can be a good time to do so.

However, the timing of this coming at midseason, a few months ahead of the trade deadline — and just a few weeks before the trade market expands when players signed this offseason are eligible to be dealt on Dec. 15, a date the Lakers are reportedly earmarking — does open up a world of potential speculation.

Could Turner be preparing to negotiate his way to a more preferred destination behind the scenes or with a public trade request, aided by arguably the most powerful and influential agency in the NBA? We don’t know that to be the case, but the timing of all this is certainly enough to make one raise their eyebrows and wonder. For now, file this away as interesting, but if we start to hear more Turner-to-the-Lakers (or elsewhere) trade buzz in the next few weeks, we may have a hint on where it all started.

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