Kyle Kuzma recently made headlines by saying that he could be an all-star and average 25 points per game if given a consistent role. My biggest question to this would be, well where was this all during the playoff series against the Phoenix Suns when Kuzma was not a factor for the Los Angeles Lakers? Where was all this last season? What is it exactly that has made him say this recently? Is it the trade rumors?
A very wise man once said that ” Great players play great”.
We all know that Kyle Kuzma is a very good player who is gifted athletically. As an underrated rookie, he came into the league and played fantastically. In his second season, he improved even more but in his third and fourth seasons, things started to change.
Sure, it had to do with the Lakers acquiring LeBron James and then Anthony Davis. Kuzma had now become third fiddle or maybe even fourth. He played wonderfully when LeBron and Davis were not in the lineup this past season but then seemed to fizzle out. Consistency is lacking.
He will now be entering his fifth year in the NBA and is still young at 25. That being said, it would have to take some great change for him to accomplish what he was quoted as saying.
Kyle Kuzma likely won’t make that jump as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
If it does happen, it would have to be with another team where Kyle Kuzma can serve as one of the main go-to guys or where he is in more of a Mike D’Antoni type of offense where there is more focus on shooting and less focus on defense. Also, if the front office felt that Kuzma was the answer to the Lakers’ future, they would have made the necessary moves to put that into play.
Kuzma was virtually invisible in the playoff series against the Suns. He averaged 6.3 points per game and shot a paltry 29% from the field and 17% from three-point. Not exactly the kind of performance that all-stars have when the game is at its most important.
I feel that the Kyle Kuzma as Laker ship has sailed. Now would be the best time to make a trade with him. I am sure there are many teams that would want to acquire him and in return, the Lakers could get a possible valuable piece to their puzzle. He can be a very good 2 or 3 but he has not shown that he can be a legit leader of a team and he doesn’t seem to be clutch.
While nothing is impossible, if Kuzma were to pull this off, he would really need to improve various elements of his game. The first area would be his fire. He doesn’t seem to play with intensity such as players like Chris Paul or Damian Lilliard. There is something in their eyes that burns brightly.
Kuzma’s shot selection at times seems to be quite erratic. There are times when he comes down the court and either seems to rush his shot or not be properly balanced. His defensive skills are come and go. At times he seems to give up on segments. I think one of the things he has to do more of is to let the game come to him a bit more naturally.
Most importantly, he should really let his game do the talking. Fewer quotes and tweets and just go out there and perform the way in which he feels he can. After all, isn’t that what Kobe, Jordan, Magic, and Larry Bird did?