Trade season started off with a bang for the Los Angeles Lakers. They were able to land Dennis Schroder and only gave up a draft pick and Danny Green in the process. However, that deal apparently almost didn’t happen. The Lakers almost went after a different guard entirely.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the team took a look at Jrue Holiday.
“From what I understand, there was interest in Jrue Holiday on the Lakers’ side ahead of Dennis Schroder with a similar package, but with Kuzma in it as well. … So I know that, on some level, they’d be willing to move him. Like, if it was a significant upgrade,” said Pincus on the “Locked on Lakers” podcast, via Lakers Daily.
Holiday was just traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for a large haul of draft picks. Giving New Orleans Kuzma, Green and another draft pick probably didn’t match what the Bucks offered. Holiday is probably the superior player to Schroder but the latter is younger and costs less.
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Lakers Open to Trading Kuzma
While the Holiday report is interesting, the most notable thing that Pincus reported is the fact that the Lakers are obviously open to trading Kuzma. There hasn’t been a ton of clarity on how the team feels about the forward. Reports have come out that he’s looking for a “sizable” contract extension but that doesn’t seem likely to happen.
There’s has been talk that the Lakers are open to the idea of extending him but probably not for a ton of money. Based on how last season went, it’s fair to wonder if Kuzma is a fit on this roster. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player, it just means he might need a change of scenery. He’s considered one of their best young pieces but is also already 25 years old. It’s entirely possible that he’s already gotten pretty close to his ceiling.
Kuzma Deactivates Twitter
Kuzma made some headlines on Monday when he sent out a strongly worded tweet.
“Ight enough disrespect on my name. Y’all will be reminded,” Kuzma tweeted.
Shortly after he sent that message, he appeared to deactivate his Twitter account.
Kuz had enough of the hate
As of the writing of this, his Twitter account is deactivated but his Instagram is still available. He hasn’t posted anything yet.
This could mean a few things. First, he might’ve deactivated his account because he was tired of getting hate. Second, trade season is a tough time for a guy like Kuzma. He’s already been mentioned in a number of rumors and that’s got to be irritating. Third, it could just be because he’s focused on getting ready for the season. He’s posted some videos of him working out recently. He might just be trying to drown out the noise while he focuses on improving his game. Either way, the whole Kuzma situation is definitely something to watch.
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Lakers Considered Trading Young Player for All-Star Guard: Report