Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G Eric Gordon

Houston Rockets Receive: F Kyle Kuzma

Trading Eric Gordon for Kyle Kuzma straight up, and vice versa, seems pretty reasonable but this trade may not sit well with both fan bases. Rockets fans believe that they should get a first-round pick for Gordon, as do the Lakers fans with Kuzma, but at the end of the day both guys’ values are pretty much identical. 

Gordon is coming off a season in which he played only 27 games due to injuries and his value has declined as a result. This is not to say that he cannot have a great bounce-back year during the 2021-22 season, but he is definitely not worth a first-round pick anymore, especially since he is owed $58.7M through the next three seasons. The final year of his contract though ($20.92M) is non-guaranteed, meaning that the Lakers may not be tied down to him for too long. 

As for Kyle Kuzma, he too is not nearly as valuable as many fans of the Lakers believe. He is a really solid, young talent, but many seem to believe the Lakers can get an All-Star caliber player for Kuzma. This is simply not the case and while they could potentially look to get an extra first-round pick from the Rockets in this deal for Kuzma, his value really is not that high. 

Trading Kuzma, some minimal draft assets and potentially something else for an All-Star caliber player is on the table for Los Angeles this offseason, but again, Kuzma’s value is not as high as they believe it is, which is why they probably will not be able to get much more for him other than a player like Eric Gordon. 

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Overall though, adding Gordon is not a bad move at all for the Lakers because they know what they are going to get with him. In 13 seasons in the NBA, Gordon has averaged double-figure scoring each and every year and he has shot 36.8% from distance over the course of his career. 

Los Angeles is going to be looking for ways to add more experienced and consistent talent to their roster this offseason, so could they actually look to add Eric Gordon at the expense of Kyle Kuzma? Let’s take a look at if this trade makes sense for both the Lakers and Rockets.