Kevin O’Connor claims the Lakers are heavily pursuing Buddy Hield in exchange for Kyle Kuzma as the NBA Draft is less than 24 hours away.
With the 2021 offseason in full effect and the NBA Draft less than 24 hours away from commencing, the trade rumor mill has been working overtime to churn out new trade propositions surrounding various stars across the league. The Lakers have been quite active in these rumors and Kyle Kuzma has been at the forefront of all of them.
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A report recently came out that claimed the Lakers offered up some sort of package with Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope bundled up, to practically every single team that’s willing to put an asset on the trading block. Of course, two players who severely underperformed in the Playoffs haven’t received any interest from opposing teams.
The Lakers however, have been relentless in their pursuit for a tertiary star next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis and according to Kevin O’Connor, they’ve narrowed in on one.
The Lakers are offering up Kyle Kuzma and more for Buddy Hield.
Many teams have strayed away from the Buddy Hield acquisition due to his age but with LeBron and AD having a much more accelerated timeline, this shouldn’t be an issue. Besides, the Sacramento Kings star has been consistently shooting over 40% from beyond the arc since entering the league in 2016.
His insane shooting clip puts him in rarified air that guys like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are a part of. The Ringer’s KOC reports that the purple and gold are in heavy pursuit of Buddy and are offering up a package that includes Montrezl Harrell, the no. 22 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, and a selection of either Kyle Kuzma or KCP.
Report: Lakers have “stepped up their efforts” in their pursuit of Buddy Hield “by adding the no. 22 pick to a deal that’d include Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope,” via @KevinOConnorNBA pic.twitter.com/L8ZIUvIiDv
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 29, 2021
Contrary to popular belief, the Kings are actually looking to make a push for the Playoffs. They hold the longest streak for a postseason drought currently in the NBA and so it isn’t a sure thing that they would choose Kyle Kuzma over Caldwell-Pope.