This summer, the Lakers completed a series of signings, the most important of which was the addition of Russell Westbrook. To ensure that the team is competitive enough this summer, Vogel has drastically reorganized the team, especially after the introduction of Westbrook, the Lakers' paper strength has been very strong. In the deal with Westbrook, the Lakers had to package Kuzma, Pop and Harrell to Washington, but since the start of the new season, the Lakers have lost more than they have won, and it is difficult for Westbrook to integrate into the team, and it is very difficult to perform on the court, which is difficult to satisfy fans and management. On the other hand, Kuzma's new owner tied for first place with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss in the East, and The little Margo played even more vigorously after leaving Los Angeles. In today's game against the Hawks, he scored 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists on 8-of-17 shooting. After the game, some fans bluntly said that it was the Lakers who delayed Kuzma's growth. But is this really the case, today we will talk about kuzma in the Lakers period, what kind of positioning is in the team.
<h3>Chapter 1: Early Life</h3>
Kyle Kuzma was born on July 24, 1995 in Burton, Michigan, United States. He is 208 cm tall, weighs 101 kg and has an arm span of 214 cm, and plays as a big forward. Kuzma, who loved basketball since childhood, showed enough basketball talent in high school to be invited by the University of Utah. In 2014, Kuzma entered the University of Utah and began his basketball career at the NCAA. Kuzma, a freshman, did not get a lot of performance as a rookie on the team, averaging 3.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 31 games for the team. But after two years of training, Kuzma's stats in his junior year have risen to an average of 16.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and with this excellent performance, he was successfully selected to the Best Pacific Twelve League Team. After the end of his junior season, Kuzma, after consulting with coaches, family and friends, decided that it was time to take a step forward and immediately announced his participation in the 17-year draft.
<h3>Chapter 2: Entering the Alliance</h3>
Soon, the draft arrived as scheduled. The Lakers used the table and a few signings in the latter part of the first round to select Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart, accumulating enough talent for the team. On July 4, 2017, the Lakers officially announced the signing of Kuzma, and the two sides reached a four-year rookie contract worth $8.74 million. Kuzma's NBA career officially kicked off in Los Angeles. In that year's Las Vegas Summer League, Kuzma averaged 21.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 7 games for the Lakers, and was selected for the best team second team. In the final of the summer league, facing the Portland Blazers, Kuzma did not have a soft hand, he cut 30 points, 10 rebounds, helped the Lakers win 110-98, he also won the FMVP because of his excellent performance.
His outstanding performances in the summer league gave him a certain opportunity to play in the regular season. In his rookie season, Kuzma's playing time exceeded 30 minutes to 31.2 minutes. In his 77 games for the team, he started 37 games and averaged 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 45%, 36.6% and 70.7% from the field, three-point range and 70.7% from the field. He scored 1,242 points in his rookie season, becoming the third player in Lakers history to score more than 1,000 points in a rookie season and shoot more than 50 percent from the field.
<h3>Chapter Three: Mainstay</h3>
After honing his rookie season, Kuzma has grown a lot, averaging 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in his second year, becoming the team's second-place scorer. But with the arrival of Anthony Davis, the Lakers' environment has changed a lot, and Kuzma's playing time and firing rights have declined to varying degrees, but the shooting percentage has hardly changed compared to the previous two seasons.
Last season's Kuzma averaged 12.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, although it does not have the dazzling performance of the second grade, but it is also good to get such data in the limited playing time. He can lead the team to victory by sending 15-of-24 shooting and slashing 36 points when the Elder Zhan and Davis are out of the game and facing the Challenge of the Thunder. This battle can show that Kuzma is not a mediocre talent, if given enough firing power, he can also have a brilliant performance, but with the Lakers have superstars such as Old Zhan and Davis, as well as other powerful players, Kuzma's firing power is also constantly being compressed, from 15.5 in the 19-20 season to 10.9 last season, which is even lower than the 13.5 shots in the rookie season.
With the compression of playing time and firing rights, Kuzma also played in a hurry on the field, and the number of mistakes, the number of fouls, and the efficiency value have all declined significantly. According to the official advanced data, Kuzma's per efficiency value reached 11.6, setting a new career low. The rebounding rate is only 9.9%, the turnover rate is 11.6%, the steal rate is only 0.8%, and the assist rate is 7.4%, which are all regressive from the previous season, and even a new career low. In addition to this, Kuzma's scoring efficiency has also become extremely unstable, he has nearly half of the games, and the score is not in double figures. He has also played a game of 7 shots and 0 points, which is a bad signal for a professional player.
Kuzma is a player with a high ball quotient, he always plays the role of a good coach on the field, and when Zhan Mei is on the field, he is good at using the no-ball running position to cut into the interior to score. You can also use your body to hit your opponent in a low position and complete the finale. His shooting has a certain accuracy, and his organizational ability is also above the average level, and he is fighting for rebounding. That's one of the reasons he can't be used as a chip in the Deal over Davis. But Kuzma's shortcomings are also obvious, compared to others, Kuzma's static talent is more average, and the shooting is there but not stable enough. When you break through with the ball, it is easy to rush up and not see your teammates in the bottom corner.
When the shot is very iron, you can't adjust yourself in time, and it is easy to hang your head. Kuzma's ceiling is not too high due to congenital conditions, and the possibility of becoming a superstar is slim, but he has proven himself to be a good role player and one of the puzzle pieces of the championship. Playing next to the superstar, he has performed well. Now that the Washington Wizards, the all-inclusive team can release Kuzma's inner pressure to a certain extent, have a better mentality on the court, and treat every game.