clarkson's gotten two of those, right?! not bad. and i think kuz is that kind of player. ox seems to think that's an insult, but these are average to above average nba players whom teams will want to pay. there are worse things to be.
That's fine. But not here. They can go get that on teams like Utah and Memphis where they will never win a title.
Watching that training camp video, Kuz is really working on his body. Guy is ripped, looks strong... you have to have a good body to be able to rock those cool clothes, right?
Kuzma said he's not sure of his new role with the Lakers but he wants to improve defensively. That's great news. If Jerami Grant can earn $20 million to score 12 PPG and be a 3/D player, Kuzma can get at least $15 million if he scores 12-16 PPG as an improved 3/D player. He just needs to hit around 36-37% of his threes and be above average defensively. LeBron said he thinks Kuzma will surprise a lot of people... If Kuzma wants that big money and to shut his doubters down, he's got to do it very early in the season and take advantage of the games in which Bron/AD are resting because if Vogel doesn't see an improvement, Kuzma will be getting less of a role with the team.
kuz's struggles from three since his rookie year are strange to me. i know everyone's just chalking it up to a fluke rookie year shooting the ball, but that's a full year of data--in which he played a substantial amount of minutes. hard to just totally disregard it. and if a guy like grant can go from basically a non-shooter to a near 40% shooter on 4+ attempts per game, there's no good reason kuz can't get back to being a 35%f+ shooter from three. gotta be either REALLY different role/shot selection or in his head. he's proven he can make them.
It is really strange to me too. He had a pretty nice looking release his rookie year and he's made plenty of threes over this time. But his % has taken a serious hit. There was a point where he couldn't seem to miss from distance in the bubble, but then he fell back down to earth. He absolutely should be getting back to 35% from three if he wants to continue in this league and get a sizable contract. I'd love to see him improve. He'll need to practice shooting a ton of threes. That's what Ariza did before his break out with us.
Make or break year for Kuz - he has to hit open shots, that simple. He does that, he's easily at 15ppg a game on 25-27mpg. Problem for Kuz is...willl he get enough PT to showcase himself? Frontcourt is packed, but I guess if LeBron PT goes down, then Kuzma should see most of that. Kuz has to show out while AD/LeBron sit a few games or load manage during the games...if he doesn't, then he's pretty much not gonna have any shot at "breaking out". Good thing is - LeBron thinks he's going to surprise people. If he thinks that? Then he must know something we don't
Win-win for the Lakers... If Kuzma plays great, Lakers benefit. If Kuzma plays bad, other teams will pay him less and Lakers can match since he's restricted. How much Kuzma will get paid is up to how much he improves his 3/D. The league doesn't care about PPG anymore. They wanna pay players who can fit their role.
yeah, we're in a good position, as are most teams with their own draftees in their first free agency.
Kyle Kuzma looked fresh and totally healed out there yesterday. His first step and ability to get past his defenders was apparent. He was definitely looking to pass and despite a non-highlight play think his passing will be a factor for us as he becomes a more complete player. His shot was short and he clanked a few. Not concerned. Hope we keep him at least till the end of his contract and see him through. Kuz I have your back, now let's go back to back and get 18.
