Getty Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma.
While the Los Angeles Lakers have been the subject of many trade rumors this season, they have yet to pull the trigger on any. Though the team is at the top of the Western Conference, many believe that the team needs at least one more piece to solidify their chances at winning a championship. Most of the rumors that been mentioned revolve around the team adding a ball handler.
Names like Derrick Rose have been tossed around and while they’ve gotten some offers, they haven’t found one they quite like just yet. One asset the Lakers have that has been mentioned quite a bit is Kyle Kuzma.
Kings Didn’t Want to Give up Bogdanovic for Kuzma
It’s already been reported that the Lakers have tried to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Sacramento Kings. While the Kings don’t seem keen on giving him up, a new report suggests that the team made the Lakers a different offer. Kevin O’Connor at The Ringer just recently revealed more details on the talks between the two teams:
Sacramento doesn’t need to trade Bogdanovic, and it has declined some offers already. The Kings offered Nemanja Bjelica and a pick to the Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, and Los Angeles countered by asking for Bogdanovic, according to multiple league sources. Sacramento refused.
Bjelica is a big man, which the Lakers certainly don’t need right now. They also don’t seem to have too much interest in adding draft picks considering they are in “win now” mode. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, there don’t seem to be many teams looking to help the rich get richer. The Lakers have almost always been good, so they’re going to have a hard time finding a team that will help them get better, especially a team that shares a state with them.
The Lakers appear to really like Bogdanovic and he would probably provide a lot of help for the team’s second unit, but it’s doubtful the Kings give him up for just Kuzma.
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Do the Lakers Need to Make a Trade?
Fortunately for the Lakers, they are in a position where they might not necessarily need to make a big trade. For one, Darren Collision is a free agent and he could very well be interested in playing for his hometown team. Plus, he wouldn’t cost anything and is arguably as good as anybody on the trade market.
The Lakers already sit atop the Western Conference with their current lineup and while Kuzma hasn’t been the biggest contributor this year, he also hasn’t made the team any worse. There’s no doubt the team had bigger expectations for Kuzma as he was the one young piece they fought to keep in the Anthony Davis trade, but he clearly hasn’t impressed them enough.
Even though he hasn’t shown great consistency, he undoubtedly has elite scoring ability on certain nights. If the Lakers can convince the Detroit Pistons to send over Derrick Rose for Kuzma, then that might be worth it. However, they shouldn’t just give up the young forward for pennies on the dollar.
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