Lakers News: Rob Pelinka Discusses Keeping Kyle Kuzma in Anthony Davis Trade

In Rob Pelinka's still burgeoning role as general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, successfully completing the trade for Anthony Davis will be a career-defining milestone.

But to be able to execute that deal, which sent Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks (including the No. 4 overall) to the New Orleans Pelicans, without having to include a promising young talent like Kyle Kuzma?

That has the potential to end up being the coup de grace.

"It was definitely a win-win for us to be able to get Anthony Davis in a trade and also keep Kyle Kuzma as a Laker," Pelinka said in a recent interview on Sirius NBA Radio. "I think that Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram-tremendous players. We valued our experiences with them. Great, great people, great young men and great players. 

"I think Kyle also is of that ilk, and to be able to consummate the transaction for Anthony Davis and keep Kyle was just an amazing win-win for us."

While the trade was praised because Davis is a generational talent that can be a franchise cornerstone for years to come, there were also some critics and fans that panned the move because L.A. had to sacrifice much of its young core.

"I hear all the time, 'Oh, well you gave up the future to get Anthony Davis," Pelinka said. "But it's interesting...Anthony Davis is 26, right? So to me, he represents both the now and the future. And the way we designed our salary cap, if you study it, we have a roster that we feel like is really, really competitive now.

"But also cap flexibility to add potentially another star player down the road, when Anthony is in his prime. We really thought hard about how we wanted to build our cap. You have to surrender important assets to get Anthony, no question, but it's a deal we do 10 times out of 10."

The Lakers initially tried to trade for Davis after he requested to be dealt back in January, but then president of basketball operations Magic Johnson was unable to finalize a deal with the Pelicans.

After Johnson's abrupt exit from his role with L.A. and New Orleans won the NBA Draft Lottery and got the No. 1 overall pick, Pelinka was able to resurrect trade talks for Davis.

Pelinka spoke to ESPN's Dave McMenamin about how delicate the talks were.

"Major NBA trades live on the edge of a dime," Pelinka said. "I think maybe the everyday fan doesn't know how the fulcrum is so razor-thin, and something's close to being done and then it's far from being done and then you think you have it done and you start over."

Even after the deal was thought to be finalized, though, there were still multiple wrinkles that had to be ironed out before it was official.

"I think you go into any negotiation, and I don't think you're close-minded and say, 'It's got to be X, Y or Z,'" Pelinka said. "I think you go in, and you get a sense of what the other team's looking for. You kind of know what's important from your side, and you try to get to the finish line."

The Lakers also had to send Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, Moritz Wagner and a 2022 second-round pick to the Washington Wizards to get to that finish line, but in the end, it was all part of doing business for Pelinka and the ownership team. 

"To Jeanie Buss, I just think her philosophy of business is 'when you get an extraordinary asset, you have to give up extraordinary assets,'" Pelinka said. "But being able to keep Kyle was an objective that we're proud of."

Kuzma is expected to be out until the middle of this month while he recovers from a stress reaction in his left foot he sustained while playing for Team USA.

The former No. 27 overall pick in the 2017 draft was instant offense for that team and had effectively displayed the work he'd put in over the summer perfecting his outside shooting.

That's why Pelinka and the coaching staff believe this could be a breakout year for him.

"We think he's a key part of this team and how we want to play, with the length and the versatility and the defensive ability and shooting that he brings," Pelinka said.

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