The Los Angeles Lakers punted on their trade discussions with the Sacramento Kings and agreed to a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook on Thursday.
However, Kings guard Buddy Hield and Wizards newcomers Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell were surprised by the rapid action that unfolded.
“Almost everyone that I could talk to that was involved in the potential Buddy Hield-Kings trade was kind of blindsided when it fell apart at the end,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported on his podcast.
The Lakers were in on talks to acquire Hield ahead of the draft.
As a matter of fact, they reportedly added their prized 2021 first-round pick to strengthen their offer. The Kings had the choice of picking between Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
According to Jason Jones of The Athletic, all the players involved in the Kings-Lakers talks believed the trade was going to happen.
“League sources said all the players involved in the much-discussed Lakers-Kings deal expected that trade to happen,” Jones wrote.
Yet, things appeared to fizzle out as the draft got closer.
Then, the Lakers agreed to send Kuzma, Harrell and Caldwell-Pope and the No. 22 pick to the Wizards for Westbrook and two future second-round picks.
On Friday, Kuzma thanked the Lakers in a classy social media post.
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