NBA Rumors: LA Lakers Could Trade Kyle Kuzma, Quinn Cook & Talen Horton-Tucker For Davis Bertans
With All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal unlikely to be moved, Davis Bertans suddenly became the hottest commodity on the trade market who’s wearing the Washington Wizards‘ jersey. The Wizards may have insisted that they plan to keep Bertans long-term but as of now, most people believe that trading him before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline would be Washington’s best option than risk losing him in the 2020 NBA free agency without getting anything in return. According to Zach Buckley of the Bleacher Report, one of the NBA teams who’s closely monitoring Bertans’ availability on the trade market is the Los Angeles Lakers.
As Buckley noted, the Lakers may own the 10th-best conversion rate in the NBA, but they are just 21st in makes and 23rd in attempts. Though they have plenty of snipers on their roster, adding Bertans to LeBron James’ team would tremendously improve the Lakers’ floor-spacing and three-point shooting.
“Davis Bertans would be a godsend. His blend of volume (3.7 threes per game) and efficiency (43.6 percent) was only previously reached by Stephen Curry. And remember, Bertans is doing that without a table-setter like LeBron James. Getting them on the same roster might ensure the 2019-20 championship road runs through Hollywood. James creates more points off assists than anyone. Bertans splashes more catch-and-shoot threes than anyone, and he buries them at a 45.1 percent clip. The two would work wonders together, and the gravitational pull of Bertans’ shooting would be just as beneficial for Anthony Davis.”
Bertans may not be the third superstar that the Lakers have been looking for since the 2019 NBA offseason, but he would still be an incredible addition to the Purple and Gold. Bertans would give the Lakers another scoring threat who can excel in an off-ball capacity, making him a good fit alongside ball-dominant superstars like James and Anthony Davis. This season, the 27-year-old small forward is averaging 15.2 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 42.8 percent from beyond the arc.
To acquire Bertans, Buckley suggested that the Lakers could offer a trade package including Kyle Kuzma, Quinn Cook, and Talen-Horton Tucker to the Wizards. The proposed trade deal would not only be beneficial for the Lakers but also for the Wizards. In exchange for Bertans’ expiring contract, the Wizards would be acquiring a 24-year-old forward with a huge superstar potential in Kuzma and a young and promising talent in Horton-Tucker. Cook may just be included in the deal for salary-matching purposes, but he would be a reliable backup for John Wall once he returns from an injury next season.
