Team USA did not live up to expectations in the FIBA World Cup. Jerry Colangelo believes the injury to Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers hurt the team.
While most of the top players from the United States passed on playing in the FIBA World Cup, Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to take advantage of the opportunity.
Compared to most years, this was a very weak team in terms of star power that the United States sent to the tournament. There were a lot of young players on the team that never had any experience playing in international play.
As we have seen over the past decade, these international teams are no joke and can compete with a weakened US squad. Despite still having a team full of NBA players, Team USA will be playing in the 7th place game against Poland on Saturday.
This outcome was certainly a disappointment for Team USA. Recently, Jerry Colangelo spoke about the injury to Kyle Kuzma being a factor in Team USA not reaching their goals. Here’s what Colangelo said via ESPN and the Associated Press.
"Colangelo felt ankle injuries sustained by Jayson Tatum during the World Cup and Kyle Kuzma just before the tournament hurt the U.S. chances in China, noting that the team felt Kuzma was going to be a big help. Colangelo insisted that he didn’t fault the effort of the players who made the commitment this summer."
This is certainly some high praise for Kuzma, who might have had a significant role on Teams USA in the FIBA World Championships.
As we saw with the Lakers over the past two seasons, Kuzma is a guy that can flat out put the ball in the basket. With his hybrid forward frame, Kuzma would have been a problem for international teams, similar to what we saw from Carmelo Anthony years ago.
Also, Kuzma has been working on his three-point shot a lot this offseason to improve upon it after a down sophomore season in that category. Three-point shooting of course is a critical part of the game now, and Kuzma would have been able to provide some help in that area as well from the forward spot.
While Team USA didn’t accomplish what they set out to do this summer, Kuzma looks to be ready for a big third season with the Lakers. Getting some experience with the National Team will only help him as he looks to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis make the playoffs this season.