The Los Angeles Lakers are in win now mode. That is no secret. As the Lakers look to add a third piece next to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, LA needs to decide how to go about doing that. Is their third star Kyle Kuzma or should they look to move him? It’s an incredibly difficult decision to make. Should the Lakers trade Kyle Kuzma? Let’s analyze the pros and cons.
Trade Kuzma:
It’s not easy to find a trade for Kuzma. The Lakers forward is making just shy of $2 million this season. Next year he will make $3.56 million. It’s hard to give up on a year and a half of cheap labor. It’s even hard to find someone better than Kuzma while matching salaries.
Bogdan Bogdanovic has been rumored to be available. The problem is Bogdanovic is a restricted free agent next year. Also, have to factor in, why in the world would the Kings want to eat Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in a trade? KCP is the only way to really make the trade work and he’s worthless. Would the Kings even want to trade with the Lakers?
Keep Kuzma
I’m not sure the Lakers can find a trade that even makes sense. Is Jae Crowder a better alternative? Nope! E’Twaun Moore? Nope. At the end of the day, it’s probably too hard to move Kuzma’s contract anyway. You really want Robert Covington instead?
It’s not like Kuzma represents all bad things. On an old roster, Kuzma gives the Lakers youth. That’s important for getting through the regular season. He’s also a long and improved defender. He’s giving the Lakers 12.9 points per game and is a steady 3rd option.
Is Kyle Kuzma good enough to be the third best player on a championship team? He’s going to have to be. The Lakers chose him when they parted with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram in the Anthony Davis trade. They have to live with that for better or worse. While the Lakers would love to add a third star, find me a trade that actually accomplishes that. The Lakers are all in but making more moves such as a Kyle Kuzma trade isn’t something that seems feasible.
