2) Chicago Bulls trade targets to watch in conference finals: Kyle Kuzma
A commonly discussed trade target for a team like the Bulls that is still alive in the postseason at this point in time is the Lakers volume scoring young forward and former Utah Utes 6-foot-8 and 225 pound forward Kyle Kuzma. The first round pick (27th overall) of the Brooklyn Nets in the 2017 NBA Draft Kuzma isn’t having his best season with the Lakers.
Kuzma also enters the final year of his rookie contract next season, so his trade status appears to be very much up in the air heading into whenever the Lakers offseason begins. He’ll be due well under $4 million throughout the remainder of his rookie contract too.
There were the rumors within the last eight months that the New York Knicks were targeting Kuzma in the trade that sent Markieff Morris to LA back in February. But the numbers just didn’t work out on the Lakers side to get Kuzma shipped off to the Big Apple. Maybe if Kuzma is still out there on the trade block this offseason, then the Bulls could look into what his price tag would be from the Lakers.
Knicks have had exploratory conversations on Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2020
The step back that Kuzma took back in terms of his efficiency and production this season would be a worrying sign for any team targeting him on the trade market, like the Bulls in this hypothetical scenario. But maybe that means the Bulls could get him in a buy-low scenario.
Kuzma played in 61 games during the 2019-20 regular season for the Lakers (starting in just nine of them). He averaged a career-low 12.8 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks. Kuzma shot 43.6 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.5 percent from the free-throw line.
The Bulls do have a few pieces that might intrigue the Lakers that they could add alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis for next season, that would land Kuzma in Chicago.