Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G Ricky Rubio, F Jaden McDaniels, and 2022 second-round pick
Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: F Kyle Kuzma
The Los Angeles Lakers have been attempting to improve the point-guard position. The initial attempt came in the form of the trade for Dennis Schroder when acquiring him from the Oklahoma City Thunder last offseason. Given his pending free agency, he could need to be replaced.
There will not be a lot of high-level options for the Lakers if they were to replace Schroder. The team lacks premiere draft assets and does not have a lot of cap space to work with.
Ricky Rubio would be the veteran coming to the Lakers and would fit into their win-now mode. On an expiring deal, the Lakers would not have a long-term solution at the position but he could at least be a respectable stopgap option.
On the other side, Kyle Kuzma has been arguably the biggest trade piece in Los Angeles for many years. He was able to survive the deal that brought Anthony Davis to town but he might not be that lucky twice. Kuzma would be on his way to Minnesota in this trade.
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An underrated element to this trade scenario is that Jaden McDaniels would be involved headed to the Lakers. He has shown some real flashes of potential defensively and could prove to be more helpful than Kuzma going forward.
Let’s take a closer look and see how this NBA trade scenario would benefit both the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
