The Los Angeles Lakers had been actively seeking a trade that would bolster their current roster, which fell short in the first round of the last NBA Playoffs.
Their most substantive talk is with the rebuilding Washington Wizards which would bring back Kyle Kuzma to Los Angeles, according to Lakers Daily’s Anthony Irwin.
“Among Portland, Brooklyn, Toronto and Washington, sources close to the team say talks have been most productive with Washington,” Irwin wrote on July 3.
Irwin added Kuzma is open to returning to the Lakers after he was traded to the Wizards in the Russell Westbrook deal in 2021, a move that backfired.
“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.
Kyle Kuzma Blossomed Into a Star Since Leaving
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.
The Lakers can combine two future first-round picks (2029 and 2031) and use their 2030 first-rounder as a standalone draft capital in their search for a significant upgrade. They also have five pick swaps and two future second-round picks.
DeMar DeRozan Talks Are ‘Frozen’
Talks between six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan‘s camp and the Lakers have stalled, according to Bleacher Report/TNT’s NBA insider Chris Haynes.
“I would consider it frozen,” Haynes said on #ThisLeague Uncut podcast on July 2. “Antarctica.”
The reason behind it is DeRozan’s unwillingness to join the Lakers on a discount.
Despite the shrinking market for DeRozan, the six-time NBA All-Star is still seeking more than the $12.9 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception.
“So a team is going to have to get really creative if they want to try to offer DeRozan something more than the midlevel exception,” Haynes said. “With a sign-and-trade, you get a three-year deal. I know DeRozan will probably be amenable to taking on a one-year deal. But I just don’t see him taking the full midlevel exception, which is that $13 million.”
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
