true except fans have been going at him since well before that post about the haters or whatever it was. and yes he spends time posting about brands and tweeting, but from every single player and coach that talks about Kuz, all we hear is about how hard he works, not a peep about anything contrary. maybe ill start to worry about his perceived lack of focus off the basketball court when i hear about it from his teammates, coaches, or nba contemporaries, but until then I'ma let Kuz be Kuz
I think we should sign him. Like you say, even if we end out wanting to trade him, his contract has zero value to us right now. I have faith in Kuz and think he is a good piece of the puzzle for us. If he leaves, he is going to end out being a solid NBA player somewhere else. Might as well be here. Only way we should trade him is if a really good player becomes available and we just can't walk away.
I agree fans have been going at him well before that post but that isn’t the first time he’s said things like that. I have heard good things from his teammates, coaches etc this season. Can’t say for sure if I heard this kind of talk from everyone in seasons past though. Maybe here or there but not on any consistent basis. Maybe he grew up in the bubble and matured while being away. Maybe he’s concerned about getting a new contract and has decided to buckle down. Either way, it’s up to Kuz. I’m not against Kuz in general but this is his 4th year in the league. This is a prove it kind of year for him. In my mind he would have to shoot at least 36% from 3, play good defense and continue to make cuts to the basket for easy buckets. Plus he still needs to work on his decision making and handles. If he does that he’ll get a long term contract...maybe from us, maybe not but someone will pay him.
well said. and maybe not as much was said about his work ethic in years past but can you remember ever hearing anything negative about him other than from the fanbase? in the end tho its all meaningless without production. krossing my fingers this szn
Depends on how far off we are on his ask vs. our offer. Might be a good time to start the discussions, because I feel like there will be a BIG gap there.
i'd have already offered a clarkson extension to him. i'm guessing they did, his agent declined, and told him he better rediscover that threeball.
Just saw his interview on lakers tv network, he does not seem happy with his unknown role on this team.
Give Frank a break Kuz. He has to figure out what the hell he has been gifted here with this roster and how to best utilize it himself. He's only had 3 practice games.
im not quite sure its that, but rather exasperation at being asked about it as many times as he has last year and now this year. i agree he seemed annoyed, but im not sure what is at the root of that annoyance
Whatever happened to that gutted team after the AD trade? Now we have a problem finding enough playing time for these players LOL
I think Kuz is generally well liked among the players and I don’t think anyone on this forum has every said he was any kind of locker room problem. Being a good locker room kind of guy gets you Dudley money not 12 to 15 million a year.
I think he shot himself in the foot with quotes like this and the social media posts. Sometimes you just have to be quiet and let your game do the talking and I think Kuz learned that the hard way.
I imagine it’s because we thought he could be the third guy on this roster and after his rookie year which seems more of an anomaly than the norm with his shooting, it seems like a disappointment. Personally like Kuz, just perhaps not the player we all thought he would be ceiling wise, probably gets more criticism than he deserves, especially for the money he’s making.
I actually agree, I don’t think he’s happy in this role, I think he thinks he can be a bigger player elsewhere possibly. I’m not knocking him either, he had a damn good playoffs for us when you take a step back and really examine it, he played the role he was asked to extremely well. He doesn’t seem thrilled to take a backseat to our stars though, he hasn’t seemed thrilled since the days before LeBron. I think it’s a little shortsighted thinking on his part though if that’s the case and I’m not reading it wrong, because he’s gotten tons of endorsements and opportunities that a guy drafted where he was doesn’t likely get if not for this market, even if he were playing as well. Hell he’s more prominent on tv and media than almost anyone else in his draft. Maybe he gets paid big this offseason by another team and he can have the green light wherever that is if we don’t match, I honestly wouldn’t extend him now, I’d roll the dice, let him play for the contract. It’s win-win, if he does well we probably repeat and can keep him, if not he can be traded.
agree 100%. I think he was surprised he was not embraced by fans as much as he thought he would be. A huge b**** slap to his ego. He has looked good in pre-season though. If he doesn't underperform, and can actually hit his shots, fans will embrace him. If you go Danny Green on us, fans will be merciless.
Kuz always plays well without AD and/or LeBron. He thrives with a higher usage rate. He'll, last year he score like +30 in the first time AD missed a game, in Dec I believe. He has the same problem as Ingram. They are not good enough to be one of the leaders of a winning team. And their game doesn't adapt to a role player/supporting cast position. They need high usage rate to put the numbers and that can't happen if you want to win games. I feel bad for Kuz tho, he is very versatile and if he adapts his game he could have a very profitable career in this new era.
Read this and my initial reaction was a hard disagree, but the more I think about it, you might be onto something. Not even just from a “let’s bump up his trade value” perspective (although that is an added bonus). But more than anyone else on the team, it seems Kuzma really benefits from higher usage rates that allow him to get into a rhythm. And while on paper I would think his scoring ability fits better off the bench where he can be more of a primary option, I think in actually that is when he tries to do to much which doesn’t pan out because he never got in rhythm. With Lebron and AD, he can feast off open looks, clear cutting lanes, etc. Can’t really wrap my head around how that rotation would look though. Lebron / Schroder KCP / Caruso Kuzma / Matthews AD / Morris Gasol / Harrell Something like that? Idk if that starting lineup matches up well defensively with teams with faster guards
where did i mention anyone thought he was a locker room problem? the knock kuz gets is for his supposed lack of focus off the court. that is all media and fan driven. the only thing kuz gets knocked for is ironically the same thing all his contemporaries commend him for. comparing kuz and dudz...lol. ill just stop. how can i top that
