While the conference finals in the 2024 NBA Playoffs are about to get underway, a lot of the league is already looking ahead to the offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers are certainly within that group. They’re in the middle of a search for their new head coach and are also expected to take a swing on some big roster changes.
According to a recent report, one team that likely won’t be involved in any roster changes for the Lakers is the Chicago Bulls. According to the report, the Bulls don’t want to help the Lakers because they don’t want to help Lakers superstar LeBron James in his case as a better player of all time than Michael Jordan.
Eric Pincus on why it’s unlikely the Bulls trade with the Lakers:
“Their owner doesn’t want LeBron infringing upon Michael’s legacy… the intel is that they’re just not gonna help LeBron.”
(via @EricPincus, @jovanbuha) pic.twitter.com/VMekgVZnZL
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 21, 2024
One player who found this report to be quite comical was James’ former Lakers teammate and one-time NBA champion Kyle Kuzma. He took to social media to respond to the report, saying that it was made up.
Yall just make up bullshit it’s comical lmao
— kuz (@kylekuzma) May 21, 2024
NBA fans are no strangers to swirling rumors at this time of year, especially rumors that involve the Lakers. While players tend to ignore them, it seems like Kuzma couldn’t help but respond to this particular rumor.
Kuzma was traded to the Washington Wizards following the 2020-21 season, and while his statistical numbers have improved since his departure, his success in the league has not.
Since joining the Wizards, Kuzma has averaged 20.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. In both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, the Wizards ended with identical records of 35-47. That team success fell off of a cliff in the 2023-24 season. They finished with a record of 15-67.
That level of losing earned them the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Unfortunately for the franchise, the 2024 draft class is perceived to be one of the weakest in recent memory.
As for James and the Lakers, their season ended in the first round of the NBA playoffs after getting out of the play-in tournament with a win against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Despite many close games against the Denver Nuggets in the first round, the Lakers ended up losing that series in just five games. That was all the proof the team’s front office needed to pull the trigger on firing former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
It’s likely why the team is expected to try to make roster moves this season as well. Whether or not the Bulls end up playing a role in any of those potential moves remains to be seen.
