Los Angeles Lakers should swallow their pride and target an old face at the trade deadline

The Los Angeles Lakers should swallow their pride and target an old face at the NBA Trade Deadline. 

Over the next few weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers will need to make a big decision regarding the remainder of their season. Will they attempt to make a big move at the NBA Trade Deadline or will they try to ride out the season with the roster as is?

It could be a bit complicated considering the Lakers don’t have a ton of assets to work with but there is an urgency surrounding this team (mostly because of LeBron Jame and Anthony Davis) and the expectation is that the Lakers will be somewhat of a player at the deadline.

Los Angeles has already been linked to many players over the last few weeks, but one that I believe should emerge as one of the team’s top targets is an old face – Kyle Kuzma.

Even though it would be somewhat embarrassing for the Lakers to essentially go crawling back to the Washington Wizards and ask for Kuzma, it’s something that Los Angeles should do. And we could be seeing the early stages of that.

According to a recent report, the Lakers have “inquired” about Kuzma. Although, there’s still a lot that needs to fall into place before this turns into an all-out pursuit.

Kyle Kuzma may be the best player available at the NBA Trade Deadline

All that said, there’s a strong chance that Kuzma becomes the best player available at the NBA Trade Deadline.

Let’s look at the current landscape. Some of the “better” names that have popped up in the rumor mill the most are Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, John Collins, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Kuzma, Russell Westbrook, and Eric Gordon.

Of those names, there’s a good chance that none of them are moved. At this point, the Pacers could be more willing to stand pat and try to make the playoffs this season. The Atlanta Hawks have tried and failed to move John Collins in the past. And right now, he’s simply not a great player on a hefty contract. The Chicago Bulls aren’t trading DeMar DeRozan no matter how much the rest of the league tries to manifest it.

It’s been reported that the Lakers may just keep Westbrook for the remainder of the season. Eric Gordon is probably going to be traded but at this point in his career, there should be legit questions about how much he has left in the tank.

Even though the Washington Wizards really want to retain Kuzma, there’s really just one thing that he would have to do to force the team’s hand. If Kuzma walks up to the front office and tells them that he’s going to decline his player option for next season and leave in free agency, the Wizards have to trade him.

And of the players that could be traded, he’s probably the one that has the highest trade value. As this report indicates, the Wizards have (as they should) a high asking price for Kuzma. But he’s also a player that could change the entire Lakers’ offense.

The question that they would have to answer is if he’s the one player that they want to burn their blue-chip assets on. If the Wizards get to a place where they’d be willing to trade Kuzma, would a Lonnie Walker, salary filler, and a future first-round pick offer be enough?

There’s no way the Lakers offer their second trade-eligible first-round pick but they should exhaust all realistically available resources to try and reunite with Kuzma.

I don’t know if Kuzma completely changes the trajectory of the Lakers’ season but he’s certainly a player (of the ones that could hit the trade block) that may have the best chance of doing so.