While Westbrook struggled with the Lakers, Kyle Kuzma shined in Washington, which made the Lakers miss Kuzma's days even more. According to a set of statistics posted by Wizards fans, Kuzma has averaged 21.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the past 29 games, shooting 48%, 37% and 75% from the free throw line, especially after Bill announced the season reimbursement Kuzma became the Wizards' big brother. Kuzma's current contract expires in the summer of 2024, including the player options in the last year, and the salary for the next two seasons is only $13 million, if Kuzma can maintain such efficiency in the future, then Kuzma's contract is definitely worth it, and when the Lakers gave Kuzma this contract, there were many who thought that Kuzma was not worth the price.
This is not the first time Kuzma has attracted the attention of fans, the Wizards are gaining momentum at the beginning of the season, the start of 10 wins and 3 losses, almost made many Lakers fans feel broken, Kuzma and Pop's performance is really outstanding, especially Kuzma has repeatedly hit key balls at key moments, while Wei Shao has a variety of bad shooting choices and passing options on the court, I believe that Lakers fans are eager to avoid this transaction at that moment. But the Wizards and Kuzma are all high and low, kuzma has a very efficient performance at the beginning of the season, let people see the 17-18 season of Kuzma, his various skills are also back, with the deepening of the season and the problem of the team environment Kuzma began to return to the level of the Lakers, three points are not accurate, often play single-digit performance, the Wizards' ball problem has become the biggest trouble, which is also a reason for Kuzma's downturn.
With the trade deadline approaching, the Wizards sending Dinwiddie away, and Beal announcing the season's reimbursement, Kuzma regained his touch, and he truly became the Wizards' first offensive choice. Kuzma also played a very high performance during this time, Kuzma scored 30 points in two consecutive games, winning the first triple-double of his career, and becoming the first player in Wizards history to cut more than 25 points and 20 rebounds in a single game since Chris Webb in 1997. As Kuzma said, "Even if you choose 10 more times in the future, you will choose to execute all of them." He got more opportunities in the Wizards, I believe that Lakers fans still remember Kuzma's rookie season, kuzma at that time was really eye-catching, he looked rich in arsenal, all kinds of offensive means, and more absolutely a small throw near the free throw line, which was Kuzma's most accurate offensive means at that time, as a first-round 27 picks to be selected as an older rookie, Kuzma's rookie season did give people a lot of unlimited reverie.
At that time, Ball and Ingram were still players with low offensive stability, and Randall was not the most versatile player he is now, Kuzma, as a rookie who has just entered the league, he can average 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, which is really a glimmer of light in the darkness of that year, many fans call Kuz Circus the Lakers' Tatum, and Kuzma is also confident that he is a player of the same level as Tatum, and there are indeed many calls for the Lakers to cultivate Kuzma. But Kuzma's sweet Lakers life came to an abrupt end after the arrival of James and thick eyebrows, Kuzma's role has changed dramatically, he needs to be more on the bench, and play a fixed-point pitcher who opens up space for the team, he can no longer attack with the ball like in his rookie season, all he can do is hit three points after receiving James' pass, and maybe from that time on, Kuzma's agility is slowly draining.
Fortunately, Kuzma recognized his positioning, he began to work hard to improve his defense and shooting, the Lakers won the championship that season can not deny that Kuzma is the most important part of the bench, he is trying to keep up with the opponent's footsteps on the court, although Kuzma has not been known for his defense, but every time he finds the need to make up the position, Kuzma rushed up in time, that year Kuzma provided an important force for the Lakers' already scarce front. But Kuzma is such an unstable player, in the 20-21 season playoffs Kuzma was lost, there are also the Lakers as a whole loose in the reason, but at that time this was definitely an opportunity for Kuzma, he was davis injured after the opportunity to justify his name, if he performed well enough, I believe Kuzma will get more ball rights and roles in the future, after all, when trading Davis, the Lakers would rather let go of Ingram than use Kuzma as a head.
The trade is not necessarily a bad thing for Kuzma, who would never have been able to get a starting start if he had stayed with the Lakers, and Kuzma, a tall forward, is a player that almost every team needs. The Lakers' bench performance after losing Kuzma can be seen by everyone, and I believe that some fans have begun to miss Kuzma, especially when they see the Lakers put up a three-guard lineup. Kuzma has turned himself into a qualified defender with all these years of improvement, and Kuzma's weaknesses in the Lakers are always infinitely magnified, but when you look closely you will see that Kuzma has brought so much to the team, and now he has brought it all to Washington. He's a pitcher with a sizable three-point production, and he's also a quality rebounder with a defensive rebounding percentage of 24.2 percent, which leads the team and is also a new career record, and if you think about the Lakers' rebounds lost this season, kuzma's value will be more reflected.
Kuzma has scored (18.6 points), shots (15.1), rebounds (7.7), possession (25%), all five statistics all team No. 1, how can the Lakers have such treatment, now at least Kuzma is playing very well in the Wizards, and he is no longer just a simple pitcher, the Wizards also regard Kuzma as an important member of the future, the 26-year-old is not too old, perhaps the best time for Kuzma has just begun, and it will definitely not be Kuzma who regrets it now.