NBA Trade Rumors: Sacramento Kings interested in trading for Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma

When Kyle Kuzma burst onto the scene in his rookie season in 2017, it appeared as though the Los Angeles Lakers had found the future face of their franchise.

However, the arrival of LeBron James and Anthony Davis over the past couple of seasons, coupled with nagging injury issues have relegated Kuzma to a role on the bench and rumours suggest the Lakers are willing to listen to offers for the 24-year-old forward.

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Sacramento Kings are among a host of teams looking to engage in trade talks with the Lakers.

Sacramento is among the teams that has tried to engage the Lakers in Kyle Kuzma trade talks, league sources say. The Kings know they would have to include sharpshooter (and soon-to-be restricted free agent) Bogdan Bogdanovic, for starters, in a Kuzma deal
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 6, 2020

However, Sacramento would need to include a big piece to interest the Lakers in a deal and it's believed that they are willing to part with Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic is having one of the best seasons of his career; he is averaging 14.5 points per game and shooting 38.3% from deep and would add another scoring option to a Lakers outfit that lacks prolific shooters.

Kuzma's production, on the other hand, has dropped significantly this season and he's averaging just 12.1 points per game. His box plus-minus is a miserable -4.7 and he also doesn't fit with the Lakers' timeline for success, which means he would be better off utilising his talents on a younger roster like the Kings'.

Kuzma is currently in the third season of his $8.6m rookie contract and is set to earn $3.6m next season. Bogdanovic, on the other hand, will be a restricted free agent at the end of the current season.