Los Angeles Lakers: Three potential trades to address team’s needs

Trade #2:

Fans are instantly going to jump at this trade idea as it involves Kyle Kuzma, who is one of the more popular players on the Los Angeles Lakers. However, as we broke down in this article, the possibility of trading Kuzma should be explored.

Kuzma is not a great fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Not only does he have to share minutes in the frontcourt with the two (which has led to a downtick in minutes) but he also does not play good defense and is not a reliable enough three-point shooter, two things that it takes to survive with LeBron.

Thus, it would not be all that surprising to see the Lakers attempt to flip Kuzma for someone that provides that and someone who would be perfect would be Davis Bertans from the Washington Wizards.

Bertans is enjoying a breakout year in which he is averaging 15.8 points, but more importantly, is shooting 45.7 percent from beyond the arc. While his scoring totals were not high in previous years, he is still a career 41.5 three-point shooter.

This gives the Lakers another wing guy with size that can be a catch and shoot threat, which is extremely important if Danny Green continues to struggle.

For the Wizards, this is a trade that should not even take a second thought. Bertans is a free agent after this year and the team would essentially be flopping one season of him for the potential that comes with Kuzma.

The Lakers would need to re-sign Bertans using his bird rights to make it worth their while, but in terms of a basketball fit, Bertans is simply better for LeBron and the Lakers.