Los Angeles Lakers have three of the best bargain contracts in the NBA
Kyle Kuzma
Lou Williams and Spencer Dinwiddie are going to soak up the majority of the NBA 6th Man of the Year votes at the end of the season, which is fair because both men have been great off the bench for their respective teams.
The question is: Should Kyle Kuzma get 3rd place consideration for the 6th Man of the Year Award?
“Kuz” missed the first few games of the season as he recovered from injury, and when he came back, he played awful basketball. He was slow on defense, he missed all of his 3-point shots, and Kuzma looked lackadaisical while he was on the court.
Since those first few games, Kuzma has quietly played excellent two-way basketball.
Over the last 15 games, Kyle Kuzma has averaged 11.3 PPG (3rd on the Lakers), while shooting 40.6 percent from deep off of 4.3 three-point attempts per game. Those numbers are strong, but we expect Kuzma to play well on offense.
His defense has been the huge surprise. Throughout the past eight games, “Kuz” has the 46th best defensive rating (102) in the NBA.
Unlike Luke Walton, Frank Vogel has put Kuzma in a position to succeed on defense. This season, Kyle has rarely been asked to guard bigger players down low, where he struggles because of his lack of leg strength. Instead, Kyle has operated as a defensive wing, where he can use his reach and unbelievable foot speed to hound his assignment on the perimeter.
Even though Lou Williams has played atrocious defense this season, he’s been ridiculously good on offense for LA’s other team, so there’s no way the Clippers would ever consider swapping “Sweet Lou” for Kyle Kuzma.
But, would the Nets rather have Kuzma or Dinwiddie? What about the Rockets? Would they take Kuzma over Eric Gordon?
Spencer Dinwiddie’s averaging 20 PPG and 5 APG, but he’s been a zombie on defense. If you gave the Nets brass a choice between Dinwiddie’s exceptional offense and putrid defense at the cost of $10.5 million per season, or you offered them Kyle Kuzma’s two-way excellence at the crazy rate of $2 million this year. Brooklyn’s brain trust would have to sit down and seriously deliberate about which player is the best choice for them.
The Rockets management would take Kyle Kuzma over Eric Gordon in a heartbeat. Gordon’s averaging 11 PPG with a 28 3P% while playing bad defense this season. Plus, he just signed a 4-year $75.6 million extension on September 4, 2019.
Kyle Kuzma is in the discussion for the NBA 6th Man of the Year Award this season, but he makes a fraction of what the other top bench athletes earn, so he has one of the best value contracts in the NBA.