1. Kyle Kuzma’s new contract is perfect to be traded
The Los Angeles Lakers signed Kyle Kuzma to a three-year contract extension that kicks in after this year. For many, this was proof that the Lakers were buying in on Kuzma’s future and wanted to keep him around for years to come.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think the Lakers were hoping that he could take a step and that he could become good enough where a trade is not needed. However, that is not the main reason why that extension was signed.
That extension was signed because the worst thing to do in the NBA with an asset is let him walk away for nothing. Now, instead of Kuzma leaving in free agency, the Lakers have the asset to keep on the roster or trade for an improvement.
The salary figure is extremely important as well. The problem with trading Kuzma in the past is that his salary figure was simply too small to get anything valuable in return. If the Lakers were to trade him straight up it would have had to be for another rookie contract and that would not have been a big improvement.
The only way a trade made sense is if the Lakers paired him with a larger contract to get a bigger role player, which was something the team obviously did not want to do.
That is no longer a problem for the Lakers. Kuzma is going to make $13 million per season, which is the perfect number to work in trades without scaring other teams off. Kuzma alone is not going to be enough, but perhaps the team can flip him to a lottery team for a veteran role player and a future second-round pick.
A young, rebuilding team will certainly take three years of Kuzma for 1-2 years of a veteran role player that does not want to be there.