Lakers Blew it by Pulling Kyle Kuzma From Trade Talks and Letting Marcus Morris Walk to Clippers

Entering NBA Trade Deadline Day, the Los Angeles Lakers held the top seed in the Western Conference. Making a necessary move would help put the Lakers over the edge once the playoffs began.

The Lake Show were active pursuers of New York Knicks forward Marcus Morris, and dangled Kyle Kuzma as a potential trade piece.

Instead, the Lakers pulled Kuzma from talks a few hours before final judgments were made, and that allowed the division rival Clippers to swoop in and acquire Morris. Yup. Can't let that happen.

Did this deal cost the Clippers less than it would've cost the Lakers? Probably. But that's what teams do when they're dealing with the establishment. Happens to the Yankees all the time.

The Lakers desperately needed a big body who can shoot from the outside for their NBA Finals push, especially after DeMarcus Cousins suffered a torn ACL in the preseason. Morris was the perfect fit.

With the Knicks this season, Morris averaged a career-high in points (19.6) and three-point percentage (43.9%). Imagine adding him to the starting lineup alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That could have been a lethal combination, and additional iso ball-handler.

Instead, the Lakers opted against trading him due to their preference to keep Kuzma, who's been relegated out of the starting lineup to the bench. In fact, his shooting numbers are worse than Morris' (13.1 points, 33.7% from behind the arc).

Kuzma was the Lakers' best chance to land Morris, considering the small amount of draft capital they hold for the foreseeable future. Now, they better hope that Kuzma lights it up for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs to make up for this loss.

The Clippers were already a terrifying team. Now with Morris, we wish the Lakers the best of luck.