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Former NBA champion named Lakers trade target worth $90 million

Former NBA champion named Lakers trade target worth million

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LeBron James welcomes Kyle Kuzma

The Los Angeles Lakers will play their first regular season game on October 22nd. If the Lakers don’t make a trade or sign a pending free agent by then, they will start the year without making any significant moves in the offseason.

The Lakers could evaluate their team before making a trade, giving them a better idea of ​​what they need. They still have the resources to complete a trade involving two first-round picks and more, so that’s an avenue they could explore.

When looking for their “top” trade targets during the regular season, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes cited Kyle Kuzma as a possible solution to their deficiencies.

“Kuzma would be cheaper than LaVine or Porter Jr. and has shown more defensive prowess than either in the distant past,” Hughes wrote on Oct. 7.

“His expiring contract drops to $19.4 million in the final year, 2026-27, and the cost of departing personnel (also known as corresponding salary) would likely be lower for the Lakers. Kuzma is expected to make $23.5 million next season, $19 million less than LaVine.”

LeBron James could put pressure on the Lakers’ front office for Kuzma

With LeBron James turning 40 on December 30, 2024, the Los Angeles Lakers likely don’t have much time left with the all-time star.

After his performance at the Paris Olympics, where he helped Team USA win a gold medal, the Lakers understand that James can still play at a high level and help a team win.

Because of this, the Lakers could look to acquire talent around him.

Christopher Kline of FanSided also named Kuzma a potential suitor for the Lakers as part of a proposed trade that would send him to Los Angeles. Kline added that James could put pressure on the front office to make a move, and the Washington Wizards could help them do that.

“So JJ Redick was the flashiest and least qualified name on the head coaching market Naturally that’s where the Lakers went. Dalton Knecht was a nice mover in the draft, but relying on a rookie to revitalize the veteran rotation is often a fool’s errand. The Lakers need a lot more than Knecht Four can offer…

“At some point, LeBron will put so much pressure on the front office that a move will be made,” Kline wrote on Oct. 8. “An obvious trade partner would be the Washington Wizards, a rebuilding team with a lot of mobile veterans and affordable contracts.”

Kuzma’s thoughts on being traded by the Lakers

Kuzma was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Los Angeles Lakers in a draft day trade during the 2017 NBA Draft.

He spent the first four years of his career with the Lakers and helped them win a championship in 2020.

However, he was eventually traded to the Washington Wizards as part of a deal for Russell Westbrook.

A surprising move, as Kuzma said he felt like the Lakers had “given up” on him.

“Sure, 100 percent — I think — it was tough because I think they kind of gave up on me,” Kuzma said in an interview with All-Star in September.

“And they also gave up on this team a little too early – they probably panicked a little bit. But things move quickly in the NBA. You never know what will happen next and it’s always a revolving door. So we had a difficult – a difficult little stretch, but it happens.”

Although he felt like they didn’t give him and the team a fair chance, the Lakers were able to change that and trade him again this season.

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports reporting has appeared in Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan