Wizards would be bandits to trade Kyle Kuzma back to Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to improve the roster somehow this season. While the team has a losing record and it out of the playoff picture, it also has shown some potential at being able to make a run if the right pieces are added.

There are several players that have been connected to the Lakers as potential trade targets. Most of them do not make much sense as Los Angeles does not have enough assets to make a deal possible.

A familiar face has been tied to the Lakers in Kyle Kuzma, who realistically would not solve the Lakers’ main problems this season. That has not stopped the team from testing the waters for Kuzma, though, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that the Lakers have indeed inquired about Kuzma.

Many Lakers fans would be thrilled to welcome Kuzma back. After all, this is a team that seriously lacks wing depth and Kuzma is having a career year. While Kuzma would definitely make the rotation better, it would still be a bad look for Rob Pelinka and the front office in the grand scheme of things.

The Wizards trading Kyle Kuzma back to the Lakers would be a massive fleece.

Just so we are clear, the Lakers are going to have to trade a future first-round pick to get Kyle Kuzma back in Los Angeles. They probably would be able to attach some protections to that pick but the protections are not going to be great. It would probably be a top-five protected pick at worst.

The Wizards are not going to just trade Kuzma for Patrick Beverley and a second-round pick. There are teams that will definitely be willing to trade a protected first for Kuzma and the Lakers have to meet the asking price for Kuzma.

Is Kuzma worth a future first-round pick for this roster? Probably not. Let’s be honest, it would be fun to see Kuzma back in LA but is he really going to elevate the team that much? Should fans really be excited about trading a future pick for half a season of Kuzma (who has a player option after the season) when they still have a very slim shot at winning the title?

Quite frankly, the Lakers should only be trading a pick, even if its protected, if the trade can actually make them a title contender. Kuzma being the main prize is not going to do that.

But if Los Angeles does make the ill-advised decision to make this trade it would make the Washington Wizards look like geniuses. In the grand scheme of things, the Lakers would have not only taken on Russell Westbrook’s massive contract, but would have essentially traded two first-round picks to acquire him.

The Pistons player that the Lakers should actually be trading for

The Los Angeles Lakers have been connected to Bojan Bogdanovic but there is a different Pistons player the team should trade for.

Two wrongs do not make a right and the last thing this team need to do is compound bad trades.