If the Price Drops for Zach LaVine, Should the Lakers Trade for Him? What About Kyle Kuzma?

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are still feeling out that space between stars and depth. Depth and stars. But what about those guys who are big names but may not qualify as either?

Like Chicago's Zach LaVine, who seems perpetually on the trade block now, and therefore always rumored to be a future Laker. The Bulls, reportedly, are getting LaVine back out on the market, and doing so at a reduced price. Yes, LaVine is apparently on sale! So how should the Lakers respond? On the one hand, LaVine is (for all his negatives) still a very good player. He's twice made All-Star teams, and if you're willing to look past a completely disastrous 2023-24 season, is a reliable putter upper of numbers.

On the other hand, he's not a reliable player of games. The dude is hurt all the time, even before last year. And he's owed 130 million or so over the next three years. That's a lot for a guy with some real imperfections for whom any decline in athleticism would be deadly.

So should the Lakers bite? How low would the price have to be?

And more importantly, what are the questions the Lakers are asking themselves is they kick the tires on a deal like this one? What problem would they be trying to solve with LaVine? Would they be better off trying to pick up a guy like Kyle Kuzma, who might be available again from the Wizards. Would a return to LA be better? He makes less money, and might—might—provide more defensive versatility in ways the Lakers could use. But he's definitely not the scorer LaVine is, and the days of hoping Kuz blossoms into a legitimate outside shooter are probably over. And while he's a lesser player than some on the market, you can expect Washington to try and extract some value for Kuz because he is on a VERY favorable contract.

There are no easy choices out there for Rob Pelinka.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: LaVine for sale!!!

SEGMENT 2: What problems are they trying to solve?

SEGMENT 3: What about Kuz?

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