Update: In what may amount to being posturing by the Kings to drive up value, The Athletic’s Sam Amick is reporting that it is “unlikely” the Kings trade Bogdan Bogdanovic straight up for Kyle Kuzma. Of course, this is a fluid situation and given that talks have extended enough to discuss multiple players, it’s possible that a trade still occurs.
Original Story Follows:
Trade season is already heating up and Kyle Kuzma is at the center of it. The Los Angeles Lakers forward has had a difficult season managing playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis while battling injuries. The Lakers have, as a result, been listening to trade offers from around the league as a result.
According to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, one team negotiating for the third-year pro is the Sacramento Kings, who, according to Stein, believe they would have to include Bogdan Bogdanovic in order to acquire Kuzma.
Sacramento is among the teams that has tried to engage the Lakers in Kyle Kuzma trade talks, league sources say. The Kings know they would have to include sharpshooter (and soon-to-be restricted free agent) Bogdan Bogdanovic, for starters, in a Kuzma deal
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 6, 2020
Perhaps the most notable aspect of Stein’s report is his use of the phrase “for starters” implying that Sacramento believes they would have to offer up even more to get Kuzma.
Bogdanovic has similarly struggled in his third year with a new head coach in Luke Walton (who spent two years with Kuzma in LA). Bogdanovic has mostly played off the bench but he is averaging a career best 14.5 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from deep.
Bogdanovic famously declined to sign a four-year, $51 million contract extension with the Kings who have recently paid big money to keep Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes and will have to pay De’Aaron Fox next year. Bogdanovic will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Kuzma has one more year under contract.
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