The Los Angeles Lakers do not want to part with forward Kyle Kuzma in a potential Anthony Davis trade, but giving him up may be the only way they can acquire Davis, as the New Orleans Pelicans want him as part of the deal, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times.

Kuzma is coming off a 2018-19 campaign in which he played 70 games and averaged 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 33.1 minutes per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, 30.3 percent from 3-point range and 75.2 percent from the free-throw line.

The 23-year-old, who played his collegiate basketball at the University of Utah, was originally selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round (27th pick overall) of the 2017 NBA Draft, but his rights were acquired by the Lakers.

He went on to appear in 77 contests while making 37 starts during his rookie year, registering 16.1 points and 6.3 boards across 31.2 minutes a night while making 45.0 percent of his field goal attempts, 36.6 percent of his long-distance tries and 70.7 percent of his foul shots.

Los Angeles has already made Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and the fourth overall pick in this year's NBA Draft available for Davis, but it seems very reluctant to part with Kuzma.

The Lakers are coming off a very disappointing season in which they won just 37 games in spite of signing LeBron James last summer. Los Angeles was hit with myriad injuries throughout the year, and at the end of the season, Magic Johnson stepped down as team president. The Lakers then fired Luke Walton from his post as head coach and replaced him with Frank Vogel.