Damian Lillard is the guy everybody’s talking about around the NBA right now. According to some reports, multiple stars are trying to make the most of his situation and recruit him.
For years, Lillard has been tied with a move to the Los Angeles Lakers, and even though any trade for him seems like a long shot at this point, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd says that the Lakers feel like they have a strong shot at him.
Cowherd also said that the Lakers would love to include Kyle Kuzma in any trade offer for him because he doesn’t get along with LeBron James:
“The Lakers think they have a shot at him [Lillard],” Cowherd said on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, as quoted by Heavy. “That’s sort of Los Angeles delusion. The Los Angeles Lakers have players, KCP is a solid player, hot and cold, not what Portland wants. Kyle Kuzma – LeBron doesn’t get along with him. They’d love to move him, he’s kind of expensive. It’s not the kind of contract you can’t move, but it’s not necessarily team-friendly considering he disappears in big spots for the Lakers.”
While this wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard about Kuzma being traded, no one had reported any kind of beef with The King.
Cowherd also said that the Lakers should look to bring in Lillard as Dennis Schroder is a ‘difficult person who doesn’t get along with a lot of people’:
“Dennis Schroder is a guy the Lakers will probably re-sign him, but he’s a difficult, difficult player, I’m told,” Cowherd added. “Doesn’t get along with a lot of people, can be very difficult to coach, and Frank Vogel’s finding that out.”
Schroder’s character has been questioned in the past and so has Kuzma’s attitude. So, why would the Blazers want anything to do with them then?
Lillard won’t be a free agent until 2025 and the team interested in trading for him will require a huge trade package to make the Blazers even consider an offer.