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After LeBron James and Anthony Davis‘ encouraging play in Team USA’s gold medal run in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Los Angeles Lakers should go all-in to improve their supporting cast after they fell short to the Denver Nuggets over the last two NBA Playoffs.
Here is a trade proposal that works under the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement which could give the Lakers more size and more shooting to surround James and Davis.
Lakers receive: Kyle Kuzma & Corey Kispert
Wizards receive: D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino & top-5 2031 first-round pick
In July, Lakers Daily’s Anthony Irwin reported that the team’s most substantive trade talk is with the rebuilding Washington Wizards which would bring back Kyle Kuzma.
“Washington just last season came very close to trading Kuzma to the Dallas Mavericks but wound up keeping him once Kuzma let it be known he didn’t want to be in Dallas over concerns they weren’t close enough to winning a championship. Unfortunately for him, Dallas played in this year’s championship series. League and team sources have maintained over the last year or so that Kuzma would welcome a return to Los Angeles, just as the Lakers would love to have him back,” Irwin wrote.
The Lakers have been shopping D’angelo Russell since he decided to pick up his player option, per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
Jarred Vanderbilt becomes the collateral damage in this trade proposal. But his limited offense and injuries have hampered the team in the past.
The Lakers could also open up a roster spot for a veteran free agent signing in this 3-for-2 trade proposal.
Kyle Kuzma’s Star Turn Since Leaving the Lakers
Kuzma is coming off his most productive season as the main star of a lottery team, averaging career-highs of 22.2 points on 46.3% shooting and 4.2 assists while tallying 6.6 rebounds per game.
He was a consistent 20-point scorer over the last two seasons. He won a championship with the Lakers in the Orlando Bubble in 2020. A season later, he was traded to the Wizards.
Kuzma was the 27th overall pick in 2017, and was dealt to the Lakers along with Brook Lopez in a Draft Day trade with the Brooklyn Nets for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov.
Kuzma and Russell might get traded for each other for the second time.
“Rob Pelinka understood heading in they would be extremely limited in free agency, and after striking out with Klay Thompson and others, is now focused on upgrades using D’Angelo Russell’s expiring contract and the draft capital at his disposal, according to sources close to the situation speaking on the condition of anonymity,” Irwin wrote.
The 6-foot-9 Kuzma has on one of the best value deals in the league today — a declining four-year, $90 million with three years left.
Corey Kispert’s Ideal Fit
The Wizards sought multiple first-round picks for Kuzma during last season’s trade deadline, per Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer. It is not clear if the Wizards’ asking price has dropped.
Jalen Hood-Schifino, their first-round pick last year, should count as one and a top-6 protected pick in 2031, a selection that could be of value to the Wizards with James presumably retired by then and Davis already past his prime or could be playing elsewhere.
If this is the price for getting Kuzma back, which is a bad optic for the Lakers given they traded him in the Russell Westbrook deal that did not pan out, then they should try to extract more value.
Enter Corey Kispert, who is in the final year of his rookie deal.
Kispert could hold the fort while the Lakers are developing this year’s 17th overall pick Dalton Knecht.
Boxed as only a 3-point specialist entering the NBA, Kispert has made great strides in his all-around game last season by adding more to his bag. He made 78.0% of his shots around the rim and hit 52.5% of his field goal attempts in the 3-10 foot range, per Basketball-Reference.
Kispert put up a career-high 13.2 points last season, hiking his scoring by his constant movement. He made himself a deadlier perimeter threat by constantly cutting via the backdoor from the corner and from the elbow and wing to reposition himself on the floor.
After the Lakers missed out on Klay Thompson in free agency, Kispert could be a good consolation price if they can add him in a potential Kuzma trade.
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