After the toughest week in all of sports, the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to move forward with the 2019-20 NBA trade deadline quickly approaching.
While the Lakers still have the best record in the Western Conference by three games, there are still areas for improvement for the 2020 NBA playoffs.
As the Lakers could use a backup point guard and wing defender, their only attractive asset is Kyle Kuzma following the Anthony Davis trade back in July.
With the New York Knicks firing president Steve Mills and expected to be sellers now, they reportedly have had ‘exploratory conversations’ with the Lakers about Kuzma, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Knicks have had exploratory conversations on Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2020
As it currently stands, it is unclear what the Knicks would even offer in return for Kuzma unless there are multiple players and/or teams involved now.
For the Lakers, they reportedly are fielding offers for Kuzma, but are not aggressively shopping him. While the 24 year old has been inconsistent so far, the reality is it is difficult to move that type of contract for better talent.