fox tatum mitchell all getting PAIDDDD Kuzma needs to be looking at them and saying you know what? I'm PISSED. And step the hell up this year and make your god damn open shots and play really good defense every single night.
It’s clear with Trez and Morris here that Kuz will be more of a small forward, which is a good thing. I can’t believe that Luke played him as a small ball 5.
For those hating on Kuz, a little perspective... All 4 averaged close to the same amount of minutes per game, except Mitchell averaged 3 or so more mpg over his career so far. Also for his closest comparison, Tatum has averaged 17.3 pts, with a fg% of 457 over his career, while Kuz averaged 16 pts, with a fg% of 449 over his career. That's not even a full percentage point difference in efficiency. Unfortunately, it's now going to be really hard for him to make enough of a contribution to warrant that next contract with Trez and Schroeder here, but who knows. All 3 of those other players got the full rookie super max this off season. That's going to be hard to earn on this team. But yeah, Kuz is way better than a lot of fans give him credit. We'll see how he responds this season.
thanks for posting, as I would not have thought that was the case at all I do also notice he's the loudest off of the court out of those 4. Maybe that's part of the reason for the strong opinions. Just play ball and quit worrying about the other stuff. If you are more concerned about a "green room" than developing your skill, you just might get yourself shipped out He's also 3 years older than those guys, so the potential is pretty much realized, whereas the others supposedly have a higher ceiling. but once you can score 40 and fans know it, and you mostly turn in 15 point gems when your team really needs a scoring punch, fans will let you know about it.
...because it's Luke Walton? I'm more interested how Kuzma will hold up on defense. He should be our best chance on that end as a wing. Matthews and Pope are too undersized.
i think the concern is that kuz did better on losing teams, individually, whereas mitchell and tatum have been key players on winning teams (not fox, though...). either way, i agree with your general point: kuz takes way too much grief on this site. if he was a FA this year, he'd have fetched over MLE, for sure, from more than one team.
I give Kuzma a hard time in comparison to some because of three main reasons: 1.) He's a trade asset and our time is now. 2.) I feel he overvalues himself compared to his contemporaries. 3.) I don't anticipate much improvement. I liken him to Jordan Clarkson. For a bit he was an exciting young player. Potential was/(is?) there, but I just don't see any leap that makes us think we ever got a steal in Kuzma should we extend. I'd be floored if we ever look back and are shocked how much he improved in the course of a season. Hes a good ball player. But he WILL be overpaid at some point and I don't want that to be us. Prove me wrong kiddo.
A few points here: 1. Lots of turnover on this team since he was drafted. Coaches. Players. Ages. Expectations. Philosophies. Inconsistent roles - from the young guns with BI to now with two of the best forwards in the league. He has some “alpha” in him. I like it. Hard to let it show in the locker room with a Bron and Rondo team and with BI annointed by Magic before that. 2. If that draft were today, Kuz would be in the lottery, for sure. Maybe even top 8. ?? 3. Imagine what he would be if Pop had him?? Pop and Kerr had him for a few weeks and he was showing out!!! Even before Tatum got hurt. Then injured. Then relegated to his NEW, reduced role. I know many of you will argue he has been given all the opportunities, and playing off Bron should help him not hurt him. Partly true. But when not on the floor with Bron, we didn’t have a second creator during the season. And other bench wing defenders were not good - expecting him to be a consistent scoring punch when Bron was out, without other decent wing defenders, facilitators, and consistent shooters, ... So he worked on defense and really stepped up rebounding in a few games. Still, he has had several 30-plus games and clutch shots to end games. His improvements on D are significant, though still inconsistent. He needs better coaching - skills and offensively, as well as between the ears (the Porter and Grant factors forcing him to chuck). Vogel is not likely to maximize Kuz on offense. We often complain about the Vogel/Bron offense. If he played for the Spurs, Mavs, Heat, Warriors or C Bags .... I am expecting another jump this year - defensively and with spot ups. He played 8 minutes less per game last year. Major adjustment. With Bron and AD getting some load management early this season, Kuz will have a good start, I predict. Dennis will help. So will Harrell, and Wes. I expect his biggest stat improvement to be assists (lobs and swings - from 1.4 to close to 3). As will the competition with THT, Wes, McKinnie, and KCP. Y’all will put some respect on his name. : ) I still prefer him to Ariza and Batum at this point. And hope he can compete at the PER consistency of Brown, Grant, and Porter, with a ceiling of Siakam and Middleton. Points will be the problem, with Dennis and Trezz - except for the games Bron or AD sit.
Players are worth different amounts of money on different teams depending on their use and needs. For example, I would never pay Morris 16 million that his brother got from the Clippers even though they are the same player. Is Kuz worth KCP money, not to me. I said it before but Kuzma’s best use would be on a team that needed scoring and he could shoot at will, that’s not this team. Best case scenario would is for him to continue to get better at defense, increase his 3 point percentage and then use him in a sign and trade next summer.
It’s obviously not gonna happen now with our new additions, but I always felt he’d be better suited as a starter than coming off the bench. Some guys are just wired differently and subbing off the bench is no big deal to them. He seems to be a mental confidence player who would play better if he had a seat at the starter’s table with Lebron and AD. My thought is surely he can’t be any worse a starter offensive and defensively than Danny Green was last season.
