Lakers: Has Kyle Kuzma increased or decreased trade chances in bubble?

Has Kyle Kuzma’s bubble play made it easier or harder for the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him?

Kyle Kuzma was the one player on the Los Angeles Lakers who could not escape trade speculation during the NBA trade deadline. Several different trade scenarios were hypothesized as Kuzma was not stepping up as the team’s third star like the team expected.

However, he is still a very valuable young asset that absolutely can net the Lakers something solid in return. While the team did not deal him at the trade deadline, Kuzma has not escaped the speculation and it will return more prominently in the offseason.

Kuzma had time to change this, though. Time is a very important thing for a young player’s development and Kuzma got plenty of that during the league’s hiatus; Kuzma had plenty of time to improve his game for the Lakers’ return to prove that he is ready to be the team’s third star.

So has that happened? Prior to play in the bubble, head coach Frank Vogel was lauding Kuzma’s efforts and performance in practice. Whether or not that promising practice play translated to the hardcourt is subjective.

Kuzma averaged 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.4 minutes per game in the bubble seeding games. He shot 46.3 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.

He has slowed down a bit with the playoffs starting, averaging 10.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 24.2 minutes played. He is shooting 36 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc — a huge step back.

Regardless if he struggles a bit in the playoffs, Kuzma still has trade value as a young asset. So, has Kuzma increased or decreased the odds of the Los Angeles Lakers potentially trading him this offseason? Let’s break it down.