Lakers Send Forward to Magic for Veteran Wing in Proposed Deal

The Los Angeles Lakers have to make a few moves in the offseason and some say they should send a forward to the Orlando Magic in a nice trade deal.

Truth is, the Lakers have been shopping Kyle Kuzma. He may be on his way to the Orlando Magic. LA would get sharp-shooter Terrence Ross.

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report came up with this idea. According to him, this move would shake up “stale” rosters in the league. Ross can build his own offense and Kuzma wants a bigger role. The Lakers need more efficiency on the offensive end. Need more reasons to support this move?

“Last year, Ross was assisted on 48.5 percent of his twos and 77.5 percent of his threes, while teammates set up Kuzma with 54.5 and 92.7 percent frequency, respectively. The combination of greater self-sufficiency and superior accuracy makes Ross an upgrade over Kuzma, and that’s without mentioning the latter’s not-so-secret desire to expand his role—which simply may not be possible on a team that already has two superstars.”

The Lakers could benefit from sending their forward to the Magic in a trade deal

Ross shoots 36% from beyond the arc. In the 2020-21 NBA season, he was averaging a career-best 15.6 points per game. Brian Windhorst from ESPN linked him to the Lakers at the trade deadline last year. Well, Orlando decided to keep him around. If Kuzma wants a better role, he should use the opportunity in Orlando.

The young forward spoke about his role in LA since AD’s arrival in town. He ended up on the bench and the rest is history.

“My biggest thing is I just want to play within a consistent role,” Kuzma told Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report. “If I have that ability, I’ll be able to showcase what I can really do. There were parts of this year—and even anywhere else in my career—when I’m in a consistent space, I’m out there handling the ball, making teammates better, scoring, shooting, defending, rebounding. I think if I’m in that space, I’ll be good.”

Will this deal happen? The Lakers could benefit a lot. The same goes to their young forward.