Wizards need to demand this in rumored Lakers trade for Kyle Kuzma

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly held trade talks with the Washington Wizards in hopes of bringing Kyle Kuzma back into the fold. Anthony Irwin of Lakers Daily reported the rumor.

Los Angeles has also supposedly reached out to a bunch of other teams in hopes of adding a high-level starter. They have spoken to the Portland Trail Blazers about Jerami Grant, the Brooklyn Nets about Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, and the Toronto Raptors about Bruce Brown.

All of those players would make sense for the Lakers as they attempt to build a competitive team around LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the next couple of years.

Wizards need to demand the Lakers include 2031 first-round pick in rumored Kyle Kuzma trade talks

Kuzma’s scoring and rebounding would provide the Lakers with a nice boost on the offensive end of the floor. But what would the Wizards ask for in return?

In Irwin’s report, he notes that the Lakers have been shopping around D’Angelo Russell and picks in hopes of improving their roster, but the Wizards need to make their demands known.

If the Lakers want to take Kuzma from the Wizards, Washington needs to demand one asset be in the trade—the Lakers’ 2031 first-round pick. Unprotected.

By the time 2031 rolls around, James will be retired, and Davis will be 38 years old. With his injury history, he may be retired by then, or, at the very least, he will be shell of his former self.

Los Angeles will almost certainly be hesitant to trade a pick that far out. They would want a great player in return. And maybe Kuzma isn’t that in their eyes. But Washington shouldn’t concede.

The Wizards have no reason to trade Kuzma. Obviously, it would be cool for them to trade him and open up more minutes for their young core, but he could also stick around and help them play winning basketball.

Washington won’t win many games next year regardless, but having Kuzma around would help them stay in more games, and that would be useful experience for their young rookies.

In any talks, the Wizards should demand that the Lakers include the 2031 first-rounder in the deal, and they should want it to be unprotected. And if the Lakers aren’t willing to include it, then they can trade Kuzma elsewhere.