Not sure how I feel about Kuz now. I use to be real high on him but his ceiling has dropped quite a bit for me. He's still a good young developing player in my eyes but the potential isnt there anymore to me.
oladipo has played 55 games in two years and seen his production fall off a cliff. it's not a no-brainer at all. there's a reason you don't see a bidding war and breathless articles about where he'll end up. to me, the only reason i consider it is that both his and kuz's contract are up in 21, so if oladipo's lost for a year (again), it's only one year that we're down a rotation player. of course, that one year may be the last of lebron's prime... kuz is replaceable in FA using something near the MLE (if you're smart), but if you move him for someone who can't play at all, you're now having to use that money to replace instead of add to the team.
My point of contention with this notion is why? As much as people complain about kuz, he was a significant contributor to this championship team, and we KNOW he works well with the pieces. Why move him just for the heck of it, or because fans are frustrated he isn't playing at an amazing level? The level he was playing at was good enough to make him one of the main what 4 rotation players off the bench in the playoffs. Don't move him unless it's for a sure bet win on the trade
I think this is a good perspective. With FAs, they are always appealing because it's a shiny new toy. But with Oladipo, that toy is pretty beaten up already. If I was getting a strong and healthy Oladipo on two good wheels, then no hesitation. Kuz next season or Dipo. Neither is likely on the team after next season. What we know is that Kuz is more likely to be and stay healthy for the grind. He improved tremendously on defense under one year of actual good coaching. There is still hope that he can get more consistent with his shot. He has good chemistry with the team. I think I would keep Kuz for one more year and let Dipo go elsewhere.
Now you have me curious what the numbers are when he runs with AD compared to when he runs with LeBron.
A resounding Yes! Yes he fits well with the team. I'm not as concerned with if his numbers are amazing next to AD. He was significant as a defender, and a main rotation player for us in the playoffs. Don't fix it if it ain't broken.
He should just play more like Green, if that makes sense. Cut and use the layup/teardrop, where he is better than DG anyway, and work on that 3-pt shot. 33% isn't good, 36% would be a start. He's not any worse on D than Danny, that's for sure. Just needs to tweak his game a bit, that's all. This is why I was open to trading Kuz for a better player, but we can keep him and have him replace DG, if we could just use Green+some other filler to get a combo guard instead.
I would say that where Kuz was ineffective is fixable and was partly playoff nerves. I think his failings were more like those KCP early season/early bubble jitters rather than those Green deep fails. Kuz showed a lot of improvement. I am keen to give him another chance and for the main part enjoy him on the team. But he should NEVER go blonde again.
i think the idea is if you can get a shot at a star, you move him because his production is replaceable with a veteran FA, and he won't stay cheap going forward. but i'm not sure oladipo qualifies, and i've probably been one of kuz's bigger defenders in this thread, tbh.
Whoa .... a Ruby Rod sighting. Loved that movie. Loved Milla in that movie! In the early days of projected home theater the 480P DVD and "Superbit" version were constant conversation and considered "reference" for examining picture quality.
Once again the amazing Kobe connection. :Carusohearthands: Both championships also trace back to Magic’s early involvement with makeovers in ownership and ousted failures in Jimmy and Frank.
What is the upside to Kuzma these days? His three point shooting is a dud. In certain games, he gives up more points defensively than he can score. His playmaking ability is awful. Some games he'll get a nice pass to a cutter and the next he's throwing a behind the back pass. The way I see it... we can find players who would be willing to take the vet minimum to replace Kuzma. Paul Milsap is one of them. Jeff Green is old but he's still more athletic than Kuzma and is a veteran player who understands his role. Another player is Melo... Yeah, I know he sucks defensively but if we get Oladipo and need a quick scorer off the bench, Melo ain't a bad option after what he proved last season. My point is, what's so intriguing about Kuzma's game at this point that we can realistically say he's worth keeping?
basically, with the money we have, we're unlikely to find anyone better. plus, he's under contract for low money for another year. he outproduces his contract is why you keep him. the more guys on your roster you can say that about, the better.
I would trade Kuz/Green for Dipo in a heartbeat especially because Dipo is also expiring, so he doesn't affect our 2021 free agency plans. If Dipo works out, then maybe he's that 3rd guy moving forward that can take pressure off of LeBron. If he doesn't, well, then we go shopping in 2021. Also, we can find replacements for Kuz in free agency imo like others have said... I'm just not keen to trade Kuz for frickign Derrick Rose - THAT would piss me off.
yeah, don't know about "in a hearbeat", but i'd be in. the idea floated was that plus a 1st and i was like...maybe coming the other way? getting bird rights on kuz is useful to a small market. everybody s***s on him here but before he was a key part of our title team, he averaged 20ppg in a way that was fun to watch. the sacramento kings and indiana pacers like that. they need that.
