kuzma seemed like a star early on right?
what happened to him?
id be excited to see if he could be better here
That was a narrative invented by the LA media. His 18ppg season was inefficient on a losing team (a losing team that had LeBron play 55 games), and he was playing below average defence. His defence still hovers between below average and average, but his offence is genuinely woeful now. Has no idea how to play off-ball, wildly inconsistent from 3 (Smart-esque), isn't a good passer, and he's already turning 26 in three weeks.
Not to mention his above-MLE contract, something he seriously does not deserve. Bad offence and below-average defence, yet gets low-level starter money? No thanks!
I like Kuzma's movement without the ball. I do not like him as an off-ball player on a team with subpar ball movement. He is someone who does not do well next to a dominant ball-handler but he is someone who excels on teams with strong team passing.
This season for example, Kuzma was a joy to watch when Marc Gasol was on the floor and his performances dropped way off whenever he had to play with Drummond or Harrell. Gasol's passing unlocked Kuzma's movement which is a major strength of his game and an untapped talent playing next to a ball-dominant player in LeBron. Kuzma also had excellent chemistry with Lonzo Ball. Another player who excels at moving the ball quickly in the halfcourt (not sticking to him).
It would be nice to see Kuzma play with Horford. I like Kuzma's fit here in Boston. More as a 6th man type than as a starter. If he was available at a low price like Tristan Thompson, I would happily jump at that. Big improvement at our backup PF slots.
Interesting take. You had my interest. Now you have my attention.
I haven't watched many games at all this year, much less the Lakers. Is that really the case about Gasol? It was pretty obvious he had very little chemistry with Lebron and Davis in the minutes I saw, but I guessed that was because of his IQ. However, I have seen players struggle to play well next to Lebron. Sometimes that's devastated careers (whether that's because of Lebron or something else is a real question).
In the minutes I did see, I saw more effort and focus defensively from him than I'd seen before, which is promising, but it always looked like it felt like he was trying to prove something to Lebron - not prove something in the good way, but in the insecure way.
I would also say that Horford makes other players better. Any way we could grab Gasol in the trade as well for 10-15 minutes a game?
Topic: Hardwood Houdini Proposed Trade: Lakers <> Celtics (Read 7282 times)