Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma is not impacted by trade rumors

Despite trade rumors swirling around him, Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers isn’t letting it impact him.

As we get closer to the NBA Trade Deadline for the Los Angeles Lakers, there are surly going to be rumors surrounding the team. Since the Lakers are a title contender this season, most of the rumors have been about adding a final piece or two to help put them over the top.

While the Lakers might look to add someone, doing so is not going to be easy. Due to the trade for Anthony Davis, the Lakers are lacking tradable assets. One of the best assets that the Lakers have remaining is Kyle Kuzma, and that is why his name has been mentioned.

Kuzma was the only member of the Lakers’ young core that wasn’t traded for Davis, as the team liked how he fit with LeBron James, and that his contract was rather cheap.

While Kuzma did have a strong first two seasons with the Lakers, his numbers are down so far this season. Adding a player like Davis with LeBron was clearly going to take points away from Kuzma, but it has also taken minutes away from him.

Kuzma has come off the bench mostly this season, and his minutes per game are much lower than in his first two seasons. With both JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard playing at a high level, the Lakers haven’t gone small all that much with James, Davis, and Kuzma in the frontcourt.

Recently, Kuzma spoke about the trade rumors and how he is handling them. Here’s what he had to say on Spectrum Sports with text via Christian Rivas of Silver Screen and Roll.

"“Nah. That’s for y’all to talk about, I don’t really care. I’ve been through it multiple times, and obviously you see it, but it doesn’t even matter at this point.”"

If the past two games are any indication, Kuzma isn’t letting the rumors bother him. After being inserted into the starting lineup with Davis out, Kuzma has been scoring the ball very well with 26 points and 36 points in his last two games.

After a disappointing start to the season, hopefully Kuzma is able to sustain his play and contribute for the Lakers. With his recent strong showings, any rumors surrounding him might start to cool down, as he is certainly playing very well of late.