Getty Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
Now that December 15th has passed, the Los Angeles Lakers have more flexibility to make a trade. The latest name to get linked to them is Kyle Kuzma, who spent the first portion of his career with the team. He was frequently at the center of trade rumors until the team sent him to the Washington Wizards as part of the Russell Westbrook trade.
Less than two years later and the Lakers appear to regret sending Kuzma away in a trade. According to a report from Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Los Angeles has already reached out to Washington about a trade for the forward. There’s also been talk of him not wanting to play for the Wizards so there’s a good chance he could get dealt. Amid the recent rumors, Kuzma tweeted a very interesting message about California.
Nothing like getting off the plane and that California breeze hit you 🌴
The Wizards play the Clippers on Saturday and the Lakers on Sunday in Los Angeles so that’s why he’s back but the timing of his tweet certainly raised some eyebrows. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell called Kuzma out for “tampering.”
@kylekuzma Tampering 😂😂
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young agreed with Mitchell.
@spidadmitchell @kylekuzma Basically 😂😂
Kuzma did reply to defend himself and said he wasn’t tampering because he still owns a home in Los Angeles.
@spidadmitchell How I’m tampering I live there tf lol
Is Kuzma Trying to Get Back to LA?
It was necessary for Kuzma to get a fresh start. He was supposed to develop into a third star for the Lakers behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James but that never quite happened. He was always the fourth or fifth-best player on the team. However, things could be different now. He’s had his fresh start and has seen that the grass isn’t always greener. The Lakers have also seen that.
Kuzma was always a great fit in Los Angeles due to his eccentric style and personality. The fact that he still lives there shows that he has a love for the city. The Lakers could certainly use Kuzma’s defense and scoring ability. With Davis mostly playing center these days, having Kuzma play power forward in the starting lineup could be interesting. The Lakers want it to happen and it’s hard to imagine Kuzma wouldn’t be excited about a return.
Kuzma Recently Spoke About Playing Behind LeBron & AD
While Kuzma loves Los Angeles, playing behind LeBron and Davis again could present problems. With the Wizards, he’s been able to be a No. 1 or No. 2 option for a lot of games. He’s averaging a career-high 21.4 points per game this season. He won’t be able to put up those same numbers on the Lakers. He recently had a chance to talk about playing behind LeBron and Davis and made it seem like he prefers not being on a team with them.
“Being in this situation helped out a lot. Here, I’m not playing behind LeBron and AD. Those guys are my position, my type of player, who I am, my style,” Kuzma told Sham Charania of The Athletic earlier this month. “So coming here, I don’t have that anymore. It’s been great because me, Brad and KP don’t get in each other’s way. We all just flow out there. It’s been a pretty good jell for the first 20 games. We’re all averaging 20 a game without having any friction out there.”