Indiana Lakers reject offer of Kuzma trade
Indiana Pacers didn’t trade.
According to Mike Scotto of USA Today, Indiana did not accept the LA Lakers’ proposed trade.
The Lakers presented Kyle Kuzma (forward, 206cm, 99.8kg) and the 22nd place in the first round of 2021. The Lakers wanted another card to fill the 13th and conditions of the first round of 2021. But Indiana didn’t comply with the Lakers’ conditions. Indiana already has T.J. Warren. There was no reason to receive Kuzuma.
Ultimately, the rejection of the current deal shows how far Kuzma’s value is in the market. He exposed his wealth several times in the 2020 playoffs, with unnecessary play not helping the team much. Last season, LeBron James and Anthony Davis rarely showed up despite being sidelined for a considerable period of time due to injuries.
He may have performed the best he could last season. However, he did well compared to the expectations that he had dropped in the 2019-2020 season, but he was able to play many roles and raise the record, but it is regrettable that he failed to reach the goal. Last season, he played 8.7 minutes per game in 68 games, recording 12.9 points (443.361.691) 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
On the other hand, Indiana’s Warren is likely to return to the upcoming 2021-2022 season, although he failed to play last season due to injury. In addition, the Indiana nomination order is not necessary, so we have decided to maintain the current status. The Lakers, on the other hand, would have wanted to find out other conditions by selling their nomination rights. But there wasn’t much to be done with the value of the fallen Kuzma.
The Lakers extended their contract to Kuzma after last season. He signed a three-year, $39 million contract with him ahead of the expiration of his rookie contract. In the last year of the contract, the contract with the option of players is subject to an annual salary of 13 million dollars. The contract will be applied from next season, so if you receive Kuzuma, you may be burdened with ransom spending compared to your performance.
Meanwhile, Kuzma advanced to the NBA through the 2017 draft. He was called by the Brooklyn Nets in the 27th place in the first round. Instead of sending DiAngelo Russell (Minesota) with Timothy Mozgov to sign the remaining contract, the Lakers secured the right to nominate Brooke Lopez (Milwaukee) in the 27th place. He brought Kuzuma with the right to nominate him, but he did not show any improvement.