NBA Draft Picks
Over the course of the next seven NBA Drafts, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the rights to 18 first-round draft picks. Not only is this unheard of, but it makes the Thunder a possible trade target for the Lakers as it pertains to Kyle Kuzma.
The Lakers do not have much draft capital over the course of the next few years, giving them virtually no opportunities to build a young core of the future. While Kyle Kuzma has proven to be a reliable, young scorer, trading him away for a couple draft picks could give the Lakers two young scorers for the future success of the organization.
Kyle Kuzma has been an important piece to the puzzle for the Lakers over the years and was a big contributor to their championship season last year, but has seemed to see his role with Los Angeles change over the years. Bringing in Anthony Davis definitely changes Kuzma’s role, but he doesn’t seem to fit in their plans long-term.
If the Thunder view Kuzma as an asset moving forward, the Lakers should definitely take this opportunity to trade him for draft capital because it not only allows them to draft some young talents moving forward, but it allows the Lakers to have the option to then flip these draft picks for another big name player.
Zach LaVine is an interesting name that has come up a little bit in Lakers’ trade rumors and with his future in Chicago unclear, the Lakers could easily move Kyle Kuzma to acquire draft capital in order to trade for LaVine. It may seem like a longshot for the Lakers to be able to do, but it is not.
The biggest thing the Lakers would need in order to land a player like Zach LaVine is draft assets and as it currently sits, they do not have any draft picks of value over the next few years. This is why the Oklahoma City Thunder’s draft picks should be the number one target and focus for the Lakers in a Kyle Kuzma trade.
The Los Angeles Lakers need to give themselves options moving forward as an organization and acquiring another All-Star level talent to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis will not only keep the Lakers as the favorites to win the championship this year, but for years to come. LeBron James is still playing at a high-level and the Lakers need to do everything they can to maximize this and give them the best chance to win numerous titles before he retires.
Trading Kyle Kuzma to acquire draft picks gives them this flexibility they need for the next few years in order to do so and allows the Lakers to build the next generation of talent in Los Angeles.
