The Sacramento Kings are among the teams that have tried to engage in trade talks with the Los Angeles Lakers regarding forward Kyle Kuzma, sources told Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Sacramento is aware that such a deal would have to include sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic, Stein adds. However, the Kings are unlikely to do a straight one-for-one swap because they value Bogdanovic's versatility, sources told The Athletic's Sam Amick.
Bogdanovic is shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc this season and 37.7% overall from 3-point range across 178 career appearances.
The third-year shooting guard is set to become a restricted free agent after declining a four-year, $51.4-million contract extension from the Kings prior to this season. If the Lakers acquire Bogdanovic, they'd have the opportunity to match any offer for the Serbian during the upcoming offseason, and they'd own his Bird rights, meaning the club could go over the salary cap to re-sign him.
With Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes already inked to long-term extensions and De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley set for big deals down the line, Bogdanovic appears to be the odd man out in Sacramento.
Los Angeles is 19th in the NBA in 3-point percentage and tied for 23rd in triples made per game.
The Lakers have reportedly "shown a recent willingness" to listen to trade offers for Kuzma. The former first-round pick is averaging career lows in scoring (11.8 points per game) and field-goal percentage (42%) across 27 appearances in the 2019-20 campaign.
Kuzma, who's making less than $2 million this season, is eligible for a contract extension in the summer.
