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Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young accuse Kyle Kuzma of tampering with Lakers
- Updated: December 15, 2022
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly inquired about Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, who apparently wants to leave the Wizards.
Kuzma, who won a title with the Lakers in 2020 in the league’s Orlando, Fla. bubble, sent out a pretty interesting tweet out Thursday.
Nothing like getting off the plane and that California breeze hit you 🌴
— kuz (@kylekuzma) December 15, 2022
Naturally, some people took it as a sign that he wants to return to the Lakers. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young commented on the tweet and hilariously dubbed it as tampering.
While it’s fun to come up with different theories regarding the tweet, it seems like Kuzma tweeted that because the Wizards roster might’ve made it to Los Angeles for their upcoming back-to-back. Washington will play the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday and then stay in L.A. to play the Lakers on Sunday.
The Wizards are in the midst of a very tough eight-game losing streak. After a decent start to the season, they have tumbled down the standings and are now in 12th place in the Eastern Conference.
Kuzma has taken a lead forward this season and been one of the team’s best players. He’s currently recording 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 46.2 percent shooting from the field and 34.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Many teams are attempting to pluck him from the Wizards, and he’s set himself up very nicely for a great payday sometime in the near future.
The former first-round pick has a $13 million player option on his contract for next season, but given the rumors that have circulated about his perceived value, he would probably be better off declining that option and entering unrestricted free agency this offseason.
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers are able to pull off a deal for Kuzma before the trade deadline. The team’s main trade package involves Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and a first-round pick. It remains to be seen whether or not the Wizards have any interest at all in those assets.
As for the Lakers, they’re in a slump of their own right now. They have lost four of their last five games and desperately need to string together some wins. They’ll host the Denver Nuggets on Friday before playing the Wizards.
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