Kyle Kuzma - Hype or the Real Deal?

[SoCalMike]

Is Kuzma all fluff or is he the real deal? Did he earn that ring?


:pimp:

[RRR3]

He was consistently the worst rotation player on the Lakers so no he didn’t earn shit. Horrendous all time bad defender and he was poor offensively as well. LeBron and AD basically dragged him kicking and screaming to a ring.

[MaxPlayer]

Kuzma + Green

https://media.giphy.com/media/I4UhtUMzOrQSQ/giphy.gif

[bison]

Yes he earned it as did everyone on that laker roster from bottom to top. What a stupid question?

But is he a good player? Questionable. And I still don’t have the answer. He’s in his third year now so the ceiling is getting lower and lower. The thing is that in his first two years he showed himself to be a versatile scorer at his best. Slashing, mid range, floaters, shots and 3 point shooting seemed to be his bag. But his role got diminished when AD came aboard. So he just might be only good on bad teams, which isn’t a hallmark of a strong player. If he’s with the lakers next year Vogel needs to start him to get his confidence and swagger back

[red1]

he makes a ton of bad plays but he'll make up for it with good timely plays. he's a good defender at times so it makes him useful but overall he's nothing special. I'd bet they trade him this summer.

[Doranku]

he makes a ton of bad plays but he'll make up for it with good timely plays. he's a good defender at times so it makes him useful but overall he's nothing special. I'd bet they trade him this summer.

No. No he is not. He is one of the worst defensive players I've ever seen in my years of watching the NBA.

I'll be upset if I have to see him in a Lakers jersey again next year. Dude choked his ass off the ENTIRE bubble. Traumatizing thinking how bad he'd play in a real playoff environment with fans and road games. Get him OUT, Rob.

[Goldrush25]

Yeah he earned it. He was a key contributor in some games. That said, too inconsistent and low b-ball IQ. Don't think this is the right situation for him to flourish as a player. I think it'd be in Kuz's best interests to get a fresh start on another team.

[RRR3]

No. No he is not. He is one of the worst defensive players I've ever seen in my years of watching the NBA.

I'll be upset if I have to see him in a Lakers jersey again next year. Dude choked his ass off the ENTIRE bubble. Traumatizing thinking how bad he'd play in a real playoff environment with fans and road games. Get him OUT, Rob.
Heat hear. :applause:

Dude is a complete G League scrub. Lucky he had two legends to carry his ass.

[Basketball IQ]

Kuzma has James Worthy type potential. I think he would do better at a starting role tbh. If Lakers were to get Montrez, I would move Kuzma to the 3 spot.

[lxlHoTsAuSelxl]

These playoffs really showed how bad Kuzma is, which is a gleague player heck maybe even a CBA guy.

For every made basket he blows defence assignments left and right. Ball watches, sagging off shooters, cant shoot, cant pass, cringy, acts like he is the big 3 in LA when he isnt even top 7.

I thought the Denver series was going to be his time to shine specially going up against MPjr. but failed miserably. What KCP did these playoffs was what Kuz suppose to have done. As bad as DGreen was on the offensive end, atleast he did a great job on the defensive end(chasing around screens, switching, ect).

Dude is 6' 8 but looks just as tall when standing next to Davis but cant defend a parked car. With his size and lenght, should of bothered Butler but instead got bullied. Im sure LA will shop hard to get rid of him with a packaged deal with DGreen(15million a year?).

[FireDavidKahn]

Dude's a fluffer

[BigtimeNBAFan]

Hype or Real Deal? He isn't the real deal and there is no longer any hype around Kuzma. At very best you could say he was underwhelming this year. He had his moments and was not awful. He gave you 10ppg during the playoffs, but certainly wasn't the "3rd scorer" he was supposed to be this year.

[highwhey]

Dude's a fluffer

it;s no wonder he's airpac's favorite player on the lakers

[Phoenix]

He seems like the kind of player who will find a way to contribute in some form, but something about his game to me doesn't seem like there's a ton of room to get significantly better. Which is kind of an odd thing to say about a guy this young in his career, but my gut tells me he'll end up in the range of a 7th man on a decent team or average starter on an average team. Solid pro but not a distinguished career.

[Basketball r Us]

Kuzma has James Worthy type potential. I think he would do better at a starting role tbh. If Lakers were to get Montrez, I would move Kuzma to the 3 spot.

Yup, his production fell when he became a bench player. As a starter, he was productive...perhaps this was a confidence deal. Have not given up on Kuz just yet.

[SATAN]

This guy gets too much hate imo. His defense actually improved this season. Jimmy only made a couple shots when guarded by Kuz last game. I think Kuz has some talent but finding ways to exploit it has been an "issue" so he looks a little lost some times. He's a great slasher although underutilized. He is an odd case, he is athletic yet he often seems off balance, he often does this weird shit where you just have to wonder what the hell he was thinking. It's obvious confidence is an issue at certain points no matter how much he downplays it. He also needs to learn how to read the game and slow it down in his mind instead of looking panicked sometimes. He can still improve.

As another poster said, maybe it would be best for Kuz to get a fresh start elsewhere. I think the Lakers can still get some value out of him. He has had good games. I don't like these G League comments.

[red1]

No. No he is not. He is one of the worst defensive players I've ever seen in my years of watching the NBA.

I'll be upset if I have to see him in a Lakers jersey again next year. Dude choked his ass off the ENTIRE bubble. Traumatizing thinking how bad he'd play in a real playoff environment with fans and road games. Get him OUT, Rob.

:oldlol:


I was completely accurate with my statement. he makes a ton of bad plays but he guarded kawhi well for example.

[NBAGOAT]

hope detroit has enough interest in him and a pick +veteran to get someone like kennard. det should be interested in assets young guys and he's from there. lakers do sacrifice some defense but get some shooting+secondary playmaking on a cheap rookie contract.

lakers likely wont have interest in rose anymore with rondo leading the bench unit in the playoffs but kennard and snell are useful pieces that det's willing to trade

[SoCalMike]

Lots of interesting responses. Let me level set.

1) He has not earned a starting spot on the Lakers. No way he's good enough. And no, his defense is not what it could be given his length.
2) Yes, he might do better on another team - just not a team with aspirations for titles. If he does not play this season, I still think the Lakers get the title.
3) In the So Cal scene, he seems way too focused on getting noticed rather than improving his game.
4) People want to elevate him to something he is not. Similar to decent players the Lakers have traded away in the recent past that LA Fans did not want to get rid of. (i.e. Hart, Nance, etc)

He frustrates the heck out of me. Personally, I would like to see him get much more serious as I have seen flashes of brilliance and I want him to play well. But these flashes happen all too few times per season. Maybe getting him out of Hollywood would do him some good.


:pimp:

[TheGoatest]

hope detroit has enough interest in him and a pick +veteran to get someone like kennard. det should be interested in assets young guys and he's from there. lakers do sacrifice some defense but get some shooting+secondary playmaking on a cheap rookie contract.

lakers likely wont have interest in rose anymore with rondo leading the bench unit in the playoffs but kennard and snell are useful pieces that det's willing to trade

I'd trade Kuzma for Rose in a heartbeat. The only problem with Rose is that he's been injured by the end of the season/start of the playoffs for like 8 straight seasons.

[NBAGOAT]

I'd trade Kuzma for Rose in a heartbeat. The only problem with Rose is that he's been injured by the end of the season/start of the playoffs for like 8 straight seasons.

Rose is quite good but he has other issues. A pretty bad defender and not an outside threat. I think if the lakers want a pg upgrade, Schroeder is definitely the guy

[lxlHoTsAuSelxl]

Cant blame Davis for taking his starting spot, its freaking Anthony Davis. If your good your good and will get yours whenever you come onto the court.

Only thing he showed flashes of is his defence. First game vs Miami I thought ye did a excellent job on Butler but from game 2 and on, he would get slaughted everytime he was on Butler.

He does a great job cutting to the basket, probably the best in the team but thats his best attribute. For what he does thats positive, theres more boneheaded mistakes(fouling, ball watching, bad defence, turnovers thinking he is Magic, shooting wide open bricks) that comes with it.

Dont let the first couple season fool you. Team had a bunch of rookies and second year guys all given the freedom to do whatever thus why he looked promising. Now playing with legit superstars he looks totally out of place(ha 3rd option).

He needs to go to a team where he will get touches and hopefully develop and mature, find his niche and go from there. He said himself, its hard not getting playing time but with AD as your starting PF what do you expect but be ready when they call your name, which you never were during these playoffs(KCP was).