Shannon Sharpe believes the Lakers couldn’t ship Kyle Kuzma to line up AD alongside LeBron James because he had low trade value.
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The 2018-19 season was one of experimentation and tempered expectations for LeBron James. After making it to 8 straight Finals from the East, James had finally begun a season with no other All-Stars alongside.
This prompted a lot of people to write the Lakers off that year, based on a lack of depth. But they began the season pretty strong, sitting at 3rd place on Christmas Day after blowing the Warriors out.
But an injury to LeBron James in that fateful game derailed their playoff aspirations. The Lake Show fell all the way from 3rd seed to bottom in the Conference. Rumors of their young core being traded for Anthony Davis reached a fever pitch at the trade deadline.
A deal involving Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and a couple of picks fell through at the time. But the trio was eventually shipped off before the start of the next season. Kyle Kuzma evaded the trade and stayed on their roster for their championship run last season.
Shannon Sharpe blasts Kyle Kuzma, says he had no trade value for LeBron James
Ahead of tonight’s Lakers vs Blazers game, Shannon Sharpe engaged with Lakers fans on Twitter for a bit. Some of them seemed to suggest that the Lakers should have traded Kuzma instead of BI.
Shannon was not having it. He emphasized that Kuzma wasn’t a good enough makeweight then:
“Pels didn’t want him, they wanted Ingram.”
Ingram went on to make his All-Star game debut last season for New Orleans. He’s emerged as their franchise cornerstone alongside Zion Williamson. Kuzma, on the other hand, has been having a bad few weeks for the Lakers in AD’s absence.
