Los Angeles Lakers fans really don’t think Kyle Kuzma did much year-over-year improving between 2020 and 2021. Kuzma disagrees.
Kuzma was meant to be the third wheel to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, but that has yet to materialize. That’s fine, of course. Kuzma cannot control his own limitations. However, the expectations placed upon him, especially for a franchise like the Lakers, is championship-level play.
He is not that type of player.
Kuz can’t be the third-best player on an NBA Title team. Despite winning a ring in the bubble, it’s tough to consider Kuzma the third-best talent on that team when looking up and down the roster.
Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma thinks he made significant strides this season
“I think this year I made incredible strides of becoming a winning player, making the right play, being a real valuable asset on a defensive end. I got a lot of growth in me. I can’t wait to get there,” Kuzma said.
Lakers fans disagree…hard.
There were more, I assure you.
Kuzma is just 25 years old, but at this point it’s fair to question just how much development he has left, and how much time the Lakers are willing to give him. His scoring averages have dropped since LeBron and AD arrived, which isn’t surprising. He was never going to put up his career-high 18 points a game with those two around.
Yet, what kind of asset is he, exactly? He has a lot of room to grow on the defensive end of the floor, and he basically disappeared in the Suns series when LA needed someone to step up with an injured Bron and Davis.
Will the real Kyle Kuzma please stand up? Or have we already seen the best of him?