Sure, now he kicks in...always a contract year....watch Danny Green kill it in Philly too....sigh. At least we have Kuz's bird rights. We also have to resign THT and if he works out, Schröder. Not to get too OT here but does anyone know if Montrezl picks up his 9 mil option next year, does that still count as a Full MLE and hard cap us at the tax apron again?
That's not even close to being true. And AD got criticized here, before and after joining the Lakers, for being on the softer side...
yeah, i wasn't sure where wino was coming from here. a quick perusal of this forum alone would invalidate many of these claims. and i agree that kuz has been a whipping boy here for reasons that i don't quite understand (i think failing to become a star? THT: you're next!).
I can’t speak for others but I give Kuz grief because he’s always talking big but not producing big. He said last year he was the 3rd option on the Lakers, does anyone think he actually lived up to that? He was something like second worst in the league at wide open 3’s. Every year he talks about how he’s worked on tons of things on his game but why was his rookie year his best? So when I see him spending a lot of his time and energy on social media, promoting his brand and starting clothes lines, I wonder where his priorities are. I know other players do the same thing but they produce on the court also. If and when Kuz does that , the talk will die down. Unless he keeps up with the Puma commercials that talk trash about fans. Once you start engaging fans then you can’t be mad when they tell you how they really feel.
Good to see Kuz starting off strong. It would be great if, with our nice FA moves, the two biggest improvements on the team were guys already on the roster between him and THT.
Excellent game last night from Kuz. That's what we want to see. Nailing those threes (50% from distance), hustling, scoring (23 points) and still creating for others. More of that this season, please! It feels like Kuz is settling in so far and it would be great if he can continue. What I like about his versatility is that he can fit alongside the starters or the bench.
You say that ONLY because you aren't drinking wine with me!! I would open a bottle for you and you would become pissed that I got the name Wino before you could!
Real question here re: Kuz, do you think the Lakers will offer an extension before the December 21st deadline? I was leaning against it, let him prove it, go ahead and risk RFA to determine Kuz's market value and then weigh either sign and trade or keep him. But now with Giannis signing and off the table for sure, there doesn't seem to be a real reason not to try and come to terms with Kuz, right? I mean if he is signed to a decent contract he still has value to us either as a player for the near future or as a trade piece. Might be better at this point to try and lock him down. I think we all like what we are seeing from him so far this preseason. With Giannis no longer available won't that also increase his value this summer? I think it will.
Personally, I'm leaning towards the opinion that we should not offer an extension to him and force him to perform during the season and playoffs.
I was definitely of that opinion before Giannis signed. Now I've changed my tune. I think we should be trying to keep our own guys if possible since the Giannis pipe is over. Other teams will be going after Kuz even though he will be a restricted FA in my opinion. I think it will be cheaper to sign him now and I think honestly that we will be rewarded by better play from him overall if we lock him in and secure his future here. That's just my gut instinct at this moment.
I agree. Sign him to a reasonable deal. That makes him either a building block or a good trade piece at our determination.
Lol the drug lord outfit was white hot lit. Kuz is looking more like himself right now. Hopefully he can avoid being the next Danny Green gametime whipping boy.
We're also all assuming that Kuzma would accept an extension. He might not want one if he knows he'll get more in the offseason and is betting on himself.
Very good point. He might not, especially if the Lakers low ball him. Really interesting discussion on this topic actually today on Trevor Lane:
We hold all the cards since he’s a restricted free agent. I see no rush. If he goes mental and ends up out of the rotation or has a serious injury, we’ll be kicking ourselves for rushing it. I think we need to see how this whole squad pans out as he may end up being a trade piece before the end of the season. Not everyone can get paid big bucks. I already predict we won’t be resigning Schrooder
