Kyle Kuzma holds the ball, and standing across from him is big brother LeBron James. With only five seconds left in the game, the Wizards trailed by two points at 117-119.
Time passed quickly, Kuzma couldn't find a good shot, he was heartbroken, a simple change of direction dribbled and then met James's long arm to shoot three points.
The ball bounced off the back edge of the basket, and the Wizards failed. Kuzma lay on the floor holding his head with frustration written on his face as he missed his old club and made the Lakers regret the goal they sent him away.
That night, Kuzma was good enough, scoring 22 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block on 9-of-18 shooting, and at one point helped the Wizards complete a comeback while trailing by 14 points. But in the end, Kuzma and the Wizards fell at the last second.
It's no secret that the Lakers are eager to renew their relationship with Kuzma, and Kuzma's jump out of contract to become a free agent in the summer of 2023 is a foregone conclusion, and the suspense is whether Kuzma can return to the Lakers before the trade deadline or next offseason?
Broken mirror, can it be rerounded?
The ephemeral core era
In the summer of 2017, the Lakers made a meaningful trade by sending Mozgov and D'Angelo Russell to the Nets in exchange for the No. 27 pick (with Kuzma) and Brooke Lopez. In this deal, the Lakers are not focusing on the big Lopez and Kuzma, but on fighting for James salary space in the 2018 offseason.
Later, the Lakers' operation of not leaving Big Lopez was criticized, but the selection of Kuzma, the successful clearing of space, and the desire to get James 1 year later still made the Lakers a winner. The fact that the Lakers could use the No. 27 pick to get Kuzma was not a beautiful accident, but a long-term and thoughtful decision by Jesse Buss, head of the Lakers' scouting department.
Kuzma attended the University of Utah during his college years, and his height of 2.06 meters is his advantage, but his technology, especially his projection ability, has yet to be developed. Jesse noticed Kuzma while scouting college players, and he saw potential in Kuzma. Jesse believes that Kuzma's height allows him to swing in the third and fourth positions, he has the ability to dribble, pass and run and jump, and has a high basketball IQ, just need to polish his projection ability.
In the 2017-18 season, Kuzma was reused by Luke Wharton in his rookie season, Kuzma met Jesse's expectations of him, shooting 36.6% from three-point range in his rookie season, averaging 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, and he tied for the top of the team's scoring list with Randall and Ingram. At that time, in the eyes of Jesse and Wharton, as a space four, Kuzma and Lonzo Pol were a perfect match. They also believe that if the Lakers bring in James, Kuzma will also become a good partner for James.
In the summer of 2018, James parachuted into Los Angeles, and Kuzma faced a new challenge. The challenge is not only a change in position, possession, but also public pressure. Kuzma clearly underestimated James' influence, saying when James first arrived: "I played a year with the Lakers last season and I'm going to enjoy a lot of the spotlight as a Lakers player, so I don't think it will make a difference." But soon Kuzma realized that there was no James, and there was a big difference. The outside world has higher requirements for the Lakers, and the advantages and disadvantages of Kuzma and his teammates have all been put under the microscope.
In the 2018-19 season, Kuzma is still a member of the team's core team, after Randle left, the Lakers let Kuzma play starting power forward, James played the customary small forward, Ingram as a shooting guard, Wharton solved the three-man position division problem in this way, Kuzma became the team's second scorer, averaging 18.7 points per game, and his style of play was much more comprehensive.
"He doesn't want anybody to define him as a scorer," James said of Kuzma, "He doesn't just want to be a scorer, he's getting better at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, he's well-rounded, he can organize offense and grab rebounds, he wants to have more influence on the game."
Unfulfilled Third Big Three dreams
In the summer of 2019, the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis. Davis joined, Kuzma was the one who was hit the hardest, because of the position conflict, Kuzma needed to play as a substitute. Because the ball is saturated, Kuzma needs to make concessions.
The Lakers "poured chicken soup" on Kuzma, and James threw out the "third scoring point theory", saying: "Kuzma is an important part of the Lakers, it all started with me and Davis, but Kuzma is also an important puzzle, if we want to win the championship, he must be the third best scoring point on the team."
"I'm a flanker and the position I feel most comfortable with at both ends of attack and defence is on the flank. When I have the ball in my hand, I can block and dismantle, I can execute tactics, and I'm not just a space number four responsible for shooting from the spot. Kuzma said.
"Obviously, I can block with the ball when James is not there or not, but when he's there, you just have to follow the order."
Kuzma's words are full of dissatisfaction with the positioning of the character, and this sentiment has become a time bomb. In August 2020, the Lakers narrowly defeated the Nuggets 124-121 in the closing stages of the regular season. In the final moments, Davis held the ball low and Kuzma hit a 0.4-second tie-win with a cover catch. After the game, James gave Kuzma a very high rating, and the goal and the Lakers' victory this season gave Kuzma some comfort.
In the 2020-21 season, Kuzma has higher expectations for himself after having a championship ring, and this is his quasi-contract year, and the Lakers have noticed the change in Kuzma. Veteran Dudley continued to "pour chicken soup" into Kuzma: "I have always stressed to him that it doesn't matter how many points per game you average, it doesn't matter how big a contract you get. The question is, how do you fit in with the team's two big names? When you defend the opponent's number four, can you prevent the opponent? When you can't shoot, can you make free throws? What can you contribute to the team? ”
Dudley also pointed to the example of Otto Porter, who received a four-year contract of more than $100 million in 2017, compared to averaging just 13.4 points per game the previous season, and Dudley hopes Kuzma will follow Porter's example.
Kuzma has made huge sacrifices in terms of ball or money, and Davis and James are full of praise for Kuzma, but these will not change the result of Pelinka putting Kuzma on the shelf. In the summer of 2021, Pelinka first almost sent Kuzma to the Kings for Hield, and eventually he sent Kuzma to the Wizards as a bargaining chip in exchange for Wilson.
Kuzma has a grudge against the Lakers, he believes he should have been treated fairer with the Lakers, and he never had the opportunity to be his true self. But Kuzma also realized that an opportunity had come.
"From the moment I was traded, I was ready to take on more of the ball, and in the Lakers I had to play the James, they are the same position and type as me, but not in the Wizards, I don't like Porzingis and Beal." Kuzma said.
Return to the Lakers
Kuzma's career as a Wizards has been quite successful, averaging 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 0.9 blocks per game last season, all of which are career highs for rebounds, assists and blocks. This season, Kuzma averaged 21.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, scoring a career high.
Kuzma has repeatedly said that his stats have improved since he came to the Wizards, partly because of confidence and partly because of the ball. When Kuzma played his career masterpiece with a poor record with the Wizards and said that he would jump out of his contract next year to fight for a fat contract with a starting salary of at least $20 million, the possibility of Kuzma being traded appeared, and many strong teams, including the Lakers, had already asked for a price.
After the polishing of defense in the Lakers era, and after the Wizards honed their ball-carrying offense with a large number of balls, Kuzma has evolved. The current Kuzma is a sweet potato in the eyes of the championship team, and is regarded as the ultimate puzzle puzzle like Andrew Wiggins. It's not just the Lakers, the Suns, Kings and other teams are interested in Kuzma. As long as Kuzma enters the market, he will definitely not lack a home.
When Kuzma heard rumors that the Lakers were interested in him, his reaction was: "It's definitely a good thing, it means I'm doing well and I'm valuable." Although Kuzma has suffered a lot of grievances during his four years with the Lakers, Kuzma is not averse to returning to the Lakers, and Kuzma is not sure whether the Lakers have the chips to make a trade this season, and whether they are willing to take out salary space next year to sign him and give him a more important tactical position than he originally was.
Kuzma is still on the sidelines, knowing that in professional sports leagues, any possibility will arise, and there is also the possibility of a broken mirror. While the option of returning to the Lakers may seem a bit impractical, Kuzma also knows that anything is possible.