NBA Rumors: Knicks Could Get Kyle Kuzma For Reggie Bullock & Second-Round Pick, ‘Bleacher Report’ Suggests
According to a recently published list of trade ideas, the New York Knicks could acquire Kyle Kuzma from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for one of their role players from last season — wingman Reggie Bullock — and a 2021 second-round draft pick previously acquired from the Detroit Pistons.
As explained on Thursday by Bleacher Report‘s Zach Buckley, the Lakers are at a point where they no longer need Kuzma, given how his ball-dominant tendencies and inconsistent outside shooting make him a liability in any lineup featuring LeBron James. As such, the team should consider shipping him to another club and getting a player who could be a better fit on both ends of the floor.
Talking about how the aforementioned hypothetical deal could help the Knicks, Buckley wrote that Kuzma’s prospective playing time might “overlap” a bit with starting power forward Julius Randle and this year’s eighth overall pick, Obi Toppin. However, he also stressed that New York is still gathering assets at this point in its rebuilding process, which means it isn’t as important yet to find someone who actually fits in with the team’s offensive and defensive schemes.
As pointed out, Kuzma has the potential to contribute with the Knicks in the long term at the very least, thanks to his scoring ability. Per Basketball-Reference, the 25-year-old averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while mostly coming off the bench for the Lakers in the 2019-20 season. He did, however, average 18.7 points for Los Angeles as a full-time starter in 2018-19.
Meanwhile, Bullock was described by Buckley as a potentially ideal fit for the Lakers’ system, as he’s a career 38.5 percent three-point shooter who can also contribute on defense and provide some versatility as a complementary player. He was, however, slowed down by injuries in the 2019-20 campaign, where he saw action in just 29 games for the Knicks. But with the Pistons expected to continue struggling in the coming season, the 2021 second-rounder could turn out to be an early pick, as further noted.
Interestingly, Bullock had a brief stint with the Lakers in the second half of the 2018-19 campaign, where he started 16 of the 19 games he played in and produced averages of 9.3 points and 2.6 rebounds, per Basketball-Reference.
Kuzma is just one of the many players who have been recommended as potential trade targets for the Knicks in the lead-up to the upcoming 2019-20 campaign. Earlier this week, a hypothetical transaction was proposed, in which New York could acquire San Antonio Spurs veterans LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan for a package centered on Randle, Kevin Knox, and Dennis Smith Jr.
