Is there any reason Sac prefers Kuzma over Barnes, or does he make less money with comparable game and younger?
In the right situation, I think he will thrive. Playing with ball dominant superstars that limit ball movement and stifle what you are good at isn't a recipe for growth. Hope he goes somewhere to get the most out of his ability. Can't wait to see what he dresses like in his 50's. Good Luck Kuz!
Maybe, but my guess is no, he had a real fondness and beyond for Kobe and spent time with him on a personal level learning from him. Might just be his honest opinion? MJ who?
Kuzma will definitely score more in DC. How efficiently will be a question. It will be interesting if he continues his defensive gains and doing the little things or whether that falls by the wayside.
i think washington did nicely in the trade with us. they got two legit starters in kuz and kcp (though kcp will slot in as backup sg), a capable starting pg in dinwiddie, and a very good bench big in harrell. they don't really have a reliable starting center, and that's not great. but i think they might have improved their team via this trade, which rarely happens when you're giving up the biggest name.
What can we expect from you? "More than what I did the past two years I can tell you that" Greatest teammate you have had this far? "Duds and it's not even close".
i'll definitely be watching for this. if he just goes back to scoring 18-20 per game and not doing much else, that would be a shame. would have liked more context on that one-line answer: "a lot more than what you saw the past two years". it doesn't read as very encouraging at first glance ("i'm going to score a lot like i used to"). would rather have heard "i plan on putting it all together in a way that hasn't happened yet". and maybe he means that.
I think being away from all the distractions LA has will do him some good. Look what it did for Jordan Clarkson.
Kuz can score...thats beyond proven at this point. The guy scored more than 25 points 30 times in a Lakers uniform. Once LeBron and AD were added and his role was reduced, he couldn't become "valuable enough". His biggest strength (scoring) was suddenly not in the Lakers plan. He was asked to be a defender, rebound, make plays and hit open 3s. And he couldn't do those things as well as his nature is (scoring). No qualms whatsoever. You win a championship on the Lakers and contribute something to it, you are good in my book for the rest of your life. Same with KCP, Caruso etc.
do you think clarkson is appreciably different in utah than he was here? i'm not sure. he got a few more FGAs last year, but mostly looked like the same guy to me. most stats pretty much support that, too (though his advanced numbers were a bit better last year). but i think his second year here was pretty close to his year with utah in many ways. and his flaws (defense, not actually being a pg) are basically the same, too. as kb said above, i think some roles are right for some guys. jc is a backup scoring guard, and a solid one. kuz may be a wingman-type scorer (can't create, but has a knack for finishing all sorts of plays). if lebron was a sg and AD was a center, maybe we're thinking differently about kuz right now. i think washington will be an interesting test.
I think so. His time with us we were trying to make him a combo guard. He was pretty good playmaker his rookie season and then leaned towards scoring when we got DAR. In Utah he found his niche of being just a scorer, that 6th man punch off the bench and he had the green light to do so.
