The gathering is a lump of, and the scattering is full of stars. Players who played better after leaving the Lakers abound, Russell, Randall, Oriole, Ball Brother, Kuzma, these can be regarded as their own highlight moments after the Lakers left. It can't be said that the Lakers' vision is very poor, because the Lakers had to make a choice at the time, for any team, a season or two has a chance to win the championship, and can bring terrible traffic, far more cost-effective than the long-term business. Therefore, these young talented players are traded, which can only be said to be fate.
Of the above players, it is estimated that only Kuzma is relatively special. Because many people feel that Kuzma's own ability is very general, in the Lakers period, Kuzma should rely on the relationship with Aunt Jenny to get to the top. If you don't have a good pair of skin bags, it is estimated that you can't even play the ball. Those who say this are a bit extreme. Because from the available data, Kuzma was almost the optimal solution among all the player choices at that time. Better than him, it is not the turn of the Lakers. Worse than him, the Lakers don't want it either. So on the surface, Kuzma was liked by Aunt Jenny because of his good looks, so he got the opportunity to appear. In fact, Margo's performance is not bad at all.
When he first entered the league, Kuzma had a good time. Because he is an older player, many of his actions, behaviors, techniques, and even consciousness tend to mature. For a team, such players are double-edged swords. If you need a player who can play, kuzma is the right one. He doesn't need a lot of running-in, he just needs to listen to the tactics and use them on the field. The bad part is that he doesn't have much potential to tap into, because some of the things that players have reached this age are already stereotyped, and the bad habits of the past are difficult to change. The Lakers needed most of that time period a player who could play directly. As a result, Kuzma reached a terrifying 31.2 minutes in his first year of playing time. High playing time, high ball possession, high usage, as long as Kuzma's ability is not too bad, the data is basically not too ugly. So in the first year, Kuzma's three basic stats were 16.1 + 6.3 + 1.8, the average shooting rate exceeded 45%, and there was a 36% three-point level. This level is still a bit dazzling in a rookie player.
If management only looks at the basic data, and Kuzma's performance has been maintained at this level, then the Lakers do have a reason to give Kuzma more opportunities to play in the next season, so it seems reasonable to think that Kuzma did not become a chip in the trading operation of the thick eyebrow. But is it really that simple?
In fact, just looking at the basic data does not explain anything? Young Master Wei's average of three doubles per game is not a sloppy one? Therefore, to evaluate a player's ability, you also need to look at it from another perspective. We can analyze this player from some technical characteristics. As we said earlier, Kuzma is an older player, so some of his methods and offensive methods are certainly not similar to his peers. One of the most prominent things about Kuzma is that the main offensive means of the rookie season is the same face frame and back as the mature players. To be honest, some less talented old people, even if they have been working well in the league for a few years, may not be able to do what Kuzma is so handy. Although there is an element of connivance by the Lakers management, it has to be said that he does have something.
In addition to these two things, Kuzma's main offensive means is to switch offenses. This kind of means is also very reasonable, young people, always a little energy and passion, not to mention Kuzma is the first year to play the NBA, naturally hope to leave a good impression on the management. So after the end of the first season, Kuzma switched offense to more than 20 percent of all offenses. The management saw the attitude, but seemed to be a little dissatisfied with the efficiency.
Kuzma's conversion offense scores per turn are not even 0.8 points, which is the 27th-lowest in the league and the 5th-to-last in the same position. You want to express yourself in front of management, and it is naturally a good thing to have passion and vitality, but this efficiency is inevitably too touching. One of the main reasons why this happens is that the scoring method after switching offenses is relatively single, and Kuzma is not a player who is good at holding the ball. In other words, what he needs is a team that can take a quick attack, a squad that can speed up, and then help him finish with the no-ball approach. This style of play requires a relatively high degree of tacit understanding on the strength of the team, and the first year is definitely not much better. In contrast, another young man of similar size performed very well. Simmons' conversion offense is very efficient, and although most of his points are concentrated under the basket, this can also ensure the effectiveness and stability of the shot. Kuzma is still incomparable to this.
Another aspect of Kuzma that is often questioned is that his blocking efficiency is relatively low. As an interior player, Kuzma's blocking efficiency is not even as good as that of some smaller fronts. If you say he's not this type of play, then I can understand, but in the Lakers, the demand for blocking and demolition is very high, Kuzma does not master this technology, but there is still a lot of playing time, is not a little unreasonable.
It may also be observed that after the thick eyebrows joined, Kuzma's appearance and share of the ball have decreased a lot. The biggest reason why Kuzma is not arranged to form an internal barrier when the thick eyebrows are on the court is that the thick eyebrows can surround Kuzma in all directions. Almost everything that Kuzma can do, thick eyebrows can do, and it is also more efficient than Kuzma. This is also the main reason why I have always thought that the Lakers should trade Kuzma the most. It's better to pick up some good draft picks, leave the warbler song, and send away Kuzma than anything. Of course, the Lakers succeeded in the end, and the management trade became absolutely correct under the cover of the championship.
So how should we reasonably evaluate Kuzma? A simpler and objective summary is that he is a player with the potential to become a top supporting role, presumably a role similar to Lou Wei's. Of course, he doesn't need to maintain a high ball holding rate like Lou Wei, but his positioning and team influence are similar to Lou Wei.' Say he can fight? Can indeed play! It's just that you shouldn't have as many opportunities as you did at the beginning.