Getty Nemanja Bjelica of the Kings drives against LeBron James and the Lakers
The Kings are not, apparently, very happy with the state of the team’s NBA roster. New general manager Monte McNair took over the front office last offseason after the Kings parted ways with Vlade Divac–who spoke with the Lakers about deals last year–and after a rough start, McNair is apparently looking to shake up his roster.
One of the players said to be available, according to Jason Anderson the Sacramento Bee is 32-year-old forward Nemanja Bjelica. In his sixth NBA season, Bjelica is averaging 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds, and his minutes have taken a tumble, from 27.9 per game last year to 15.1 minutes this year.
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Sources say the Sacramento Kings have explored trades for Nemanja Bjelica, whose role has been reduced as part of GM Monte McNair’s plan to rebuild around De’Aaron Fox.
This could be of interest to Lakers fans because, at this time last year, the Kings and Lakers had talks about a possible trade of forward Kyle Kuzma. The Kings hoped to get Kuzma for Bjelica and a first-round pick, but the Lakers pushed for guard Bogdan Bogdanovic instead. Ultimately, no deal was reached, though the Lakers did have interest in Bjelica.
The Lakers, though, could come back and make a run at Bjelica, who would be the kind of perimeter-shooting big man the team is lacking as it heads into the second month of its title defense.
Bjelica Has Been a Reliable 3-Point Shooter in Recent Years
Bjelica has not shot the ball well this season, making only 41.2% of his shots and 23.8% of his 3-pointers. That, though, could be because of the reduction in playing time and his inability to get comfortable in a new role in the Kings’ rotation. Bjelica has been out for Sacramento’s last six games for what the team is calling, “personal reasons.”
Sacramento coach Luke Walton told reporters that Bjelica’s absence was not a result of him being benched or on the trading block.
“There is some personal stuff and I’m just going to leave it at that,” Walton said. “We have been in communication and we are very confident in the player he is still.”
A league source confirmed to @James_HamNBCS that Nemanja Bjelica remains out with a personal issue, and hasn’t been benched by Luke Walton
Last season, Bjelica shot a career-best 41.9% from the 3-point line, which marked the third straight season that he finished making more than 40.0% of his 3-pointers. He is a serviceable rebounder and a good passer for his size (6-foot-10).
Lakers, Kings Would Have Trouble Reaching a Deal
The problem for the Lakers with a trade for Bjelica, and something they will find as a problem with any deal that they try to make before the March 25 deadline, is that it is tough to find assets that correspond to Bjelica in value. Bjelica is in the final year of his contract, at $7.1 million.
A deal for Kuzma is all but impossible because the Lakers signed him to a three-year, $39 million extension in the offseason—Kuzma’s new deal kicks in next year, making it very difficult to trade him in the interim.
OFFICIAL: @kylekuzma has signed a contract extension with the #LakeShow 💜💛
The Lakers are also extremely short on available first-round picks to trade, making a deal for Bjelica hard to sell to McNair.
L.A. could potentially give up promising second-year player Talen Horton-Tucker to the Kings, an enticing piece for their rebuilding process. Horton-Tucker was a college teammate of Kings rookie Tyrese Halliburton. But the Lakers would have to give up another player, like Alex Caruso, to make the salaries work on a deal like that. It’s hard to imagine the Lakers giving up Caruso and Horton-Tucker, even if Bjelica fits a need.
He certainly would fit—the Lakers are 25th in the NBA in 3-point attempts and have a group of big guys (Markieff Morris, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell) who do not shoot the 3-pointer well. But in terms of assets, Bjelica is an unlikely fit for the Lakers.
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