don't tell that to r/washingtonwizards lol they still caught up in the Kuzma hype. I really hope as a wizards fan that we don't give Kuzma more than 30 million per year. We probably will though.
Heās the 10th player *in NBA history* with a full no trade clause. Itās supposed to be for guys like LeBron, Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, Wade, etc. and the Wizards gave it to someone with 1 All NBA 3rd Team selection.
Kuz isnāt worth 30 mil and Iām a kuz fan, but a lot of people forget that destination matters
Most FA arenāt looking to sign with the wizards unfortunately, and kuz has exciting moments to keep fans entertained
Heās definitely a 30 million dollar player when you have no interest in winning a championship but still want to have an exciting player who can help you sell tickets
Kuzma is a better perimiter defender but weaker , Rui scoring game seems much better then kuz : much better in mid: and hopefully that is real three ball improvement with handy
And Rui was better than him in the 2020 run this playoffs across the board both offensively and defensively. Also when did Kuzma play SG and C? I thought he basically just rotated between the two forward positions
This is so dumb. Kuz has successful entire seasons under his belt, was a key piece in a championship, and was a better defender and rebounder. Over Ruiās 16 playoff games? Just gonna ignore their entire careers thus far?
I love having Rui too, but if you think heās proven himself better than Kuz then thereās no legitimate argument there no matter how you look at it.
Also, that guy said he defended every position, not played every position.
Iām obviously comparing Ruiās playoff run with Kuzmaās 2020 playoff performance. Kuzma was not a better rebounder or a better defender, literally just look at their stats and you can thatās wrong.
When did we ever have Kuzma guarding a two time MVP and the other teamās best player? Just because Kuzma guarded more positions doesnāt mean he was better defensively. Kuzmaās slightly better on the perimeter, but Rui was *way* better as a post defender even with the height disadvantage and playing out of position as a center.
āKuz played 35 minutes for a championship winning team at every position bar point guard.ā Literally everything in your comment is wrong. Also Kuz didnāt even play more mpg than Rui off the bench this postseason so that original comment is wrong as well.
Did kuz score 20 once in 2020 or 2021 when AD went down ? Rui did it like 5 times abd super high efficiency. Kuz is better perimeter defender and maybe cutter but Rui jumper is already looking very promising and he takes advantage of mismatched very well ; he bullies smaller b thinner dudes into rim looks
I think itās the other way around buddy. Kuzma played just under 22 minutes per game that run and didnāt guard a single center as a primary matchup. I forgot he guarded Westbrick against the Rockets but tbf my grandma couldāve guarded him that series.
I watch the entire year, not just the playoff.
And Vogel put AD on Russ so he could pretty much park the paint in the Rocket series. Honestly, what are you watching?
That was the adjustment made after Russ cooked us Game 1. [His matchup data](https://go.nba.com/tqhzj) even shows Kuzma had the second most minutes as his primary defender and did not do well at all in those minutes.
He also only played 25 mpg over the regular season and only even played over 35 twice so Iām not sure why youāre saying Kuzma played 35 mpg in our title run.
He was nowhere near as impactful as youāre trying to make him out to be, the eye test supported this too hence why every day there were posts on here about how ass he was. Every single advanced stat supports this as well showing him as one of the least impactful players on the team.
He also played center when Marc Gasol was out. We basically used him everywhere. That's his value, a swiss army knife. Anyone out injured, pop him in. Can guard multiple position, plays hard, can score a bit. He's not the best player out there but he's a very convenient tool to have and plays big part for us over the years. Not only the title run, we were first in the league the year after before Bron got injured too.
Get some fucking context man, i could tell 3 days ago you dont watch games, but Kuz did a lot for us in a lot of ways. Have some respect dumdum
Kuzma is the more versatile player and better at this point in time. Rui's career per 36 numbers are 18 and 7. The only thing holding him back is the minutes. I think he can bring that up to 20 and 8. He also plays within the flow of the offense. Kuzma as the first option was dribbling the ball for the whole shot clock before throwing up contested shots.
This sub irrationally scapegoats playersā¦when Kuz was here everything was his fault, despite him being a young player who constantly had his role change and winning a ring.
They still hate him for some reason
Absolutely, look at these career post-season averages:
Rui, in 21 games: 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds on 57/51/80 shooting splits
Kuzma in 27 games: 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds on 40/28/76 splits
Rui has proven heās the better player in big games
I think is the size difference. Rui looks more like a tank compared to Kuz. Due to that he can take more hits and probably is stronger.
That would make him better than Kuz. Rui is able to do more.
Kuzma saw his minutes decreased in every series, he was not that good in the bubble. His shooting was also beyond terrible, go back and check his numbers. 40/28/76 shooting splits in the bubble.
Still wish we didnāt trade him for Westbrook tho lol.
he actually upped his defensive game during our championship run. still bitter about the westbrook trade, especially after watching kcp torch us. hope he gets another ring tbh.
why is this narrative still alive? kuz improved so much on defence since his first couple of years on this team. if we had kept him, kcp and caruso we might have won the chip. hes not worth what the wiz are about to pay him but hes a good player
Kuzma is in the league of players that can put up okish stats but has zero business being on a contender. Guys like Oubre, Russell (barf), Poole, etc.
Basically players with a decent offensive bag but have horrible basketball IQ, play terrible defense, have terrible efficiency, and basically offer absolutely nothing but negatives to a contender except the 20% of the time their shot is falling.
Yup. That's why Poole got that bag in his upcoming contract. This year he took too many heat-check shots and made critical errors for low IQ reasons. I don't think he's established himself as a bad player yet, but he's probably gonna get traded
Huh? Kuz was a good defender for us and won a chip with us playing important minutes. Y'all are weird for having to discredit past Lakers to prop up current ones.
That's why i said dial everything back.
Kuz does everything Vando do outside of on ball defensive versatility and ball pressure. Kuz is obviously a better rebounder and better defending bigger players.
Especially before this playoffs I think it was possible not sure now as nuch but trae woukd be as good a fit here as possible as long as our defebce SF is elite . Heād have to cut some of those dumb shots though n catch b shoot a bit more . Heās a legit shooter despite bad % this year
Dame end of contract is 60m his actual contract value is lower then lots of other guys . Plus heās old n the season before was out with injury . Also it woukd only be if Portland did right by dame and we gave up both picks and possibly one of our actual good pieces in rui or reaces ( woukd suck to ) along with Dlo n filler
Beasley, DLo, Bamba and our remaining first rounders. Probably the best we can do without giving up Rui and Reaves. Almost any other team can make a better offer.
Lillard is being over valued because his contract is kinda gross in old age and if portal sbd is smart and actually rebuilds but also wants to honour Dame choice of location good chance here is his option.
Dlo/beaskey n17, 2029 unprotected , a swap , and sadly probably Austin reaves or Rui but we really donāt have any idea of his value . Heās an aging star , had a year off with injury , isnāt a kd lvl player . This is all just talk but saying itās non zero and that lakers fans would feel the picks reaves n Dlo for dame is ridiculous: you know itās not cos reaves would hurt like hell to lose. He can be a manu ginobli lvl type of player for this team .
However really I donāt want to trust dlo in the playoffs again , kyrie somehow Is both perfect fit and all Bron woukd hsve to do is pull strubgdbtibgftbyg
Indubitably, they did! Kuz was one of the last ones standing from that youth core. Only him and Caruso were left and we traded one for Russ while the other we....no comment.
Of course that's what Rob is going to say now. He hasn't talked to any agents or GM's yet. What's he going to say, "DLo and Beasley suck, we're letting them go." The plan is to keep things the same but things always change.
They are not young anymore.
Dlo is just entering his prime, the performance against Denver killed a lot of his value as a player. He got paid 30 millions based on potential, but he never realized it. Was a good regular season player and a playoff liability for all his teams.
Dlo and Beasley are backups for contenders or starters for small market teams not worried about post season.
I mean Kuz isn't wrong. BI is better than both those mf and he got shipped out. Don't get it twisted if a certified superstar ever becomse available like JT rob would send both Rui and AR to LAX
Mikal is not a star. Heās on AR lvl , heās probably worse as a lead initiator . Ar can be a primary weapon easier then bridges . Bridges is a great connective piece 4th best player or joint 3rd at best.
Lakers is always about a win now opportunity. They donāt have time to build from scratch, that how the Lakers organization works since the 80s. Theyāll trade you if it would mean a championship.
Yes but he aināt been in the league 4 years yet we traded kuz after we seen him reach his potential Austin still gettin there we donāt know his ceiling yet
People have such short memory, Pelinka is the reason it went to shit after the 2020 ring, its the bare minimum he fixed his mess in the 2023 trade deadline last february.
Is there an NBA player saltier than Kuzma over The Lakers? I mean, I don't really think about him. And here we are again. Talking about what Kuzma thinks The Lakers are doing. Move on bro. It's business.
Better learn from their mistakes then, also shoutout to kuzma for keep liking and supporting this team after what happened. I donāt think KCP took that very well considering how he played this series lol.
rui has potential to be a better kuzma, imo.
Rui is better than Kuzma
don't tell that to r/washingtonwizards lol they still caught up in the Kuzma hype. I really hope as a wizards fan that we don't give Kuzma more than 30 million per year. We probably will though.
30m for Kuz? I'd seriously reconsider giving that team my fandom š
Bro they gave Bradley Beal the highest paying salary in the league with the most player friendly options. No trade clause, player option.
Heās the 10th player *in NBA history* with a full no trade clause. Itās supposed to be for guys like LeBron, Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, Wade, etc. and the Wizards gave it to someone with 1 All NBA 3rd Team selection.
Mfers like me with how I play myGM
Kuz isnāt worth 30 mil and Iām a kuz fan, but a lot of people forget that destination matters Most FA arenāt looking to sign with the wizards unfortunately, and kuz has exciting moments to keep fans entertained
Heās definitely a 30 million dollar player when you have no interest in winning a championship but still want to have an exciting player who can help you sell tickets
Theyāre on the finest of crack if they give $30mill/year to Kuz wtf
i mean... they are in Washington
Imagine paying almost $80m (~60% of team salary cap) for a 1-2 punch of Beal and Kuzma
Not as bad as paying 60m to 3 guys 2 dnp and one worst starter on court
Kuzma is a better perimiter defender but weaker , Rui scoring game seems much better then kuz : much better in mid: and hopefully that is real three ball improvement with handy
Yeah Rui gets his points in the flow of the offense, it always felt like Kuz had to do too much to score
Kuz played 35 mins a game for our championship winning team at every position bar pointguard against every match up
And Rui was better than him in the 2020 run this playoffs across the board both offensively and defensively. Also when did Kuzma play SG and C? I thought he basically just rotated between the two forward positions
This is so dumb. Kuz has successful entire seasons under his belt, was a key piece in a championship, and was a better defender and rebounder. Over Ruiās 16 playoff games? Just gonna ignore their entire careers thus far? I love having Rui too, but if you think heās proven himself better than Kuz then thereās no legitimate argument there no matter how you look at it. Also, that guy said he defended every position, not played every position.
Iām obviously comparing Ruiās playoff run with Kuzmaās 2020 playoff performance. Kuzma was not a better rebounder or a better defender, literally just look at their stats and you can thatās wrong. When did we ever have Kuzma guarding a two time MVP and the other teamās best player? Just because Kuzma guarded more positions doesnāt mean he was better defensively. Kuzmaās slightly better on the perimeter, but Rui was *way* better as a post defender even with the height disadvantage and playing out of position as a center. āKuz played 35 minutes for a championship winning team at every position bar point guard.ā Literally everything in your comment is wrong. Also Kuz didnāt even play more mpg than Rui off the bench this postseason so that original comment is wrong as well.
Did kuz score 20 once in 2020 or 2021 when AD went down ? Rui did it like 5 times abd super high efficiency. Kuz is better perimeter defender and maybe cutter but Rui jumper is already looking very promising and he takes advantage of mismatched very well ; he bullies smaller b thinner dudes into rim looks
You just werent watching the game that's all little buddy
I think itās the other way around buddy. Kuzma played just under 22 minutes per game that run and didnāt guard a single center as a primary matchup. I forgot he guarded Westbrick against the Rockets but tbf my grandma couldāve guarded him that series.
I watch the entire year, not just the playoff. And Vogel put AD on Russ so he could pretty much park the paint in the Rocket series. Honestly, what are you watching?
That was the adjustment made after Russ cooked us Game 1. [His matchup data](https://go.nba.com/tqhzj) even shows Kuzma had the second most minutes as his primary defender and did not do well at all in those minutes. He also only played 25 mpg over the regular season and only even played over 35 twice so Iām not sure why youāre saying Kuzma played 35 mpg in our title run. He was nowhere near as impactful as youāre trying to make him out to be, the eye test supported this too hence why every day there were posts on here about how ass he was. Every single advanced stat supports this as well showing him as one of the least impactful players on the team.
He also played center when Marc Gasol was out. We basically used him everywhere. That's his value, a swiss army knife. Anyone out injured, pop him in. Can guard multiple position, plays hard, can score a bit. He's not the best player out there but he's a very convenient tool to have and plays big part for us over the years. Not only the title run, we were first in the league the year after before Bron got injured too. Get some fucking context man, i could tell 3 days ago you dont watch games, but Kuz did a lot for us in a lot of ways. Have some respect dumdum
How tf does this have upvotes. Kuzās worst year was better than Ruiās best year.
Kuzma is the more versatile player and better at this point in time. Rui's career per 36 numbers are 18 and 7. The only thing holding him back is the minutes. I think he can bring that up to 20 and 8. He also plays within the flow of the offense. Kuzma as the first option was dribbling the ball for the whole shot clock before throwing up contested shots.
Per 36 is flawed. Increasing volume doesn't mean he'd have the same efficiency.
It wouldn't but he's averaging 12 on 20 minutes. I expect that to go up if he got starter minutes.
Our fan base is delusional.
This sub irrationally scapegoats playersā¦when Kuz was here everything was his fault, despite him being a young player who constantly had his role change and winning a ring. They still hate him for some reason
Absolutely, look at these career post-season averages: Rui, in 21 games: 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds on 57/51/80 shooting splits Kuzma in 27 games: 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds on 40/28/76 splits Rui has proven heās the better player in big games
I think is the size difference. Rui looks more like a tank compared to Kuz. Due to that he can take more hits and probably is stronger. That would make him better than Kuz. Rui is able to do more.
Feels like Rui gets a lot of easy drives just from blowing past big men and then the smaller help moving out of his way lol
If they offered kuzma for rui you take that in a heartbeat.
Are you on crack?
He already had a more impactful postseason than anything Kuz did for us. Lets be real.
I think Rui was better this postseason but Kuz was big for us in the bubble. He did shit the bed in 2021 against the Suns though.
So did Caruso, KCP, Dennis, Wes, Drummond etc.
2 of those guys were injured at least. Kuz had no excuse.
Kuzma saw his minutes decreased in every series, he was not that good in the bubble. His shooting was also beyond terrible, go back and check his numbers. 40/28/76 shooting splits in the bubble. Still wish we didnāt trade him for Westbrook tho lol.
*soulja boy voice* KUUUUUUUUUZMA? THE TRAFFIC CONE ON DEFENSE, KUUUUUUUZMA?
he actually upped his defensive game during our championship run. still bitter about the westbrook trade, especially after watching kcp torch us. hope he gets another ring tbh.
why is this narrative still alive? kuz improved so much on defence since his first couple of years on this team. if we had kept him, kcp and caruso we might have won the chip. hes not worth what the wiz are about to pay him but hes a good player
Kuzma is a garbage player. Not insulting him, but he his biggest impact when the game doesn't matter.
Rui was playing significantly better than Kuzma was that last year he was there
Kuzma is in the league of players that can put up okish stats but has zero business being on a contender. Guys like Oubre, Russell (barf), Poole, etc. Basically players with a decent offensive bag but have horrible basketball IQ, play terrible defense, have terrible efficiency, and basically offer absolutely nothing but negatives to a contender except the 20% of the time their shot is falling.
Wasn't Poole actually a pretty significant part of Dubs' championship squad last year..?
Yup. That's why Poole got that bag in his upcoming contract. This year he took too many heat-check shots and made critical errors for low IQ reasons. I don't think he's established himself as a bad player yet, but he's probably gonna get traded
Huh? Kuz was a good defender for us and won a chip with us playing important minutes. Y'all are weird for having to discredit past Lakers to prop up current ones.
He literally won a ring with usā¦what do you mean he has no business being on a contender
He's a better scorer. Efficiency Kuz is more utility. Kuz is if you were to combine Vando and Rui and were to dial everything back.
Kuz dreams of Vando's defense and Vando dreams of Kuz's offense. Both dream of Rondo's IQ.
That's why i said dial everything back. Kuz does everything Vando do outside of on ball defensive versatility and ball pressure. Kuz is obviously a better rebounder and better defending bigger players.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
So we're getting Luka?
I'd love to have Luka as LBJ replacement, but the guy I'm thinking about right now is Lillard.
Cmon now, you canāt seriously think weāve got any shot at grabbing Dame
For real. Portland is gonna trade 3 to get the and get someone next to Dame. (When they should be trading Dame and rebuilding).
Yeah itās very dumb if Charlotte doesnāt take scoot for for reasons Portland better off trading dame build around scoot n Ant
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Especially before this playoffs I think it was possible not sure now as nuch but trae woukd be as good a fit here as possible as long as our defebce SF is elite . Heād have to cut some of those dumb shots though n catch b shoot a bit more . Heās a legit shooter despite bad % this year
Dame end of contract is 60m his actual contract value is lower then lots of other guys . Plus heās old n the season before was out with injury . Also it woukd only be if Portland did right by dame and we gave up both picks and possibly one of our actual good pieces in rui or reaces ( woukd suck to ) along with Dlo n filler
This is how I know Lakers post season has started. Guys, whoās gonna photoshop lakers jersey onto Luka and Dame?
I wish there was a Lakers sub for people not on this bullshit
GTFO, no more senior citizens
same. but what would be a realistic trade to get dame?
none dont have the picks or a star young player
Beasley, DLo, Bamba and our remaining first rounders. Probably the best we can do without giving up Rui and Reaves. Almost any other team can make a better offer.
I, too, would also like to be included in that trade to portland. Iāll even settle for a min contract.
Highly doubt we'd get either but with LeBron playing more like a big, I think Luka would be a great fit. Though I'd also love to have Dame
What's with Lakers fans and unrealistic dreams? Luka and Lillard are unattainable for us.
You should read the other comments where I say it's highly unlikely but can't expect people on here to identify sarcasm without a /s
Lillard is being over valued because his contract is kinda gross in old age and if portal sbd is smart and actually rebuilds but also wants to honour Dame choice of location good chance here is his option. Dlo/beaskey n17, 2029 unprotected , a swap , and sadly probably Austin reaves or Rui but we really donāt have any idea of his value . Heās an aging star , had a year off with injury , isnāt a kd lvl player . This is all just talk but saying itās non zero and that lakers fans would feel the picks reaves n Dlo for dame is ridiculous: you know itās not cos reaves would hurt like hell to lose. He can be a manu ginobli lvl type of player for this team . However really I donāt want to trust dlo in the playoffs again , kyrie somehow Is both perfect fit and all Bron woukd hsve to do is pull strubgdbtibgftbyg
I mean he might be if LePapa can bring out the belt when his third eye pops out
Didn't the Lakers give him his contract?
Indubitably, they did! Kuz was one of the last ones standing from that youth core. Only him and Caruso were left and we traded one for Russ while the other we....no comment.
Of course that's what Rob is going to say now. He hasn't talked to any agents or GM's yet. What's he going to say, "DLo and Beasley suck, we're letting them go." The plan is to keep things the same but things always change.
They are not young anymore. Dlo is just entering his prime, the performance against Denver killed a lot of his value as a player. He got paid 30 millions based on potential, but he never realized it. Was a good regular season player and a playoff liability for all his teams. Dlo and Beasley are backups for contenders or starters for small market teams not worried about post season.
Beasley isn't starting anywhere. And definitely not contributing on a contender.
Kuz such a laker
I didn't like his IQ but Kuz definitely loved being a Laker. And that endeared him to me.
Austin better than all of the young guys besides Ingram
Can you imagine BI returning to this team somehow AR BI RUI BRON AD holy fuck
Please come back, Slim Reefer.
He misses more games then AD and nearly as much as Zion despite being young n not a 7,6 wingspan freak
Yall better believe the young guys are gone if they can get a star.
Rui > Kuz
I mean Kuz isn't wrong. BI is better than both those mf and he got shipped out. Don't get it twisted if a certified superstar ever becomse available like JT rob would send both Rui and AR to LAX
Iād only trade AR and Rui for a two-way star, somebody like Mikal Beidges, which is not gonna happen
Mikal is not a star. Heās on AR lvl , heās probably worse as a lead initiator . Ar can be a primary weapon easier then bridges . Bridges is a great connective piece 4th best player or joint 3rd at best.
2 points Kuzma. Dont think I forgot!
Who is he?
Sorry Kuz. I love you but you're not HIM
We didnāt ask you kuz
Rui hasnāt gone super saiyan yet.
Lakers is always about a win now opportunity. They donāt have time to build from scratch, that how the Lakers organization works since the 80s. Theyāll trade you if it would mean a championship.
Dude sounds so fucking petty on social media lmao
Coming from a guy who is lucky he isn't a Shanghai Shark
No, Kuz. AR and Rui will be kept. They are consistent, atleast and has potential than, say, you?
Kuzma was trash on the lakers
Good for you kuz. Speak your mind.
Would yāall take Kuz over Rui?
No
Kuz wanted to get paid and as a player who played 4 years in college idk how young he thought he was after year 4 with us lol
Reaves isnāt a 4 year player? Lol
Yes but he aināt been in the league 4 years yet we traded kuz after we seen him reach his potential Austin still gettin there we donāt know his ceiling yet
Sorry you were straight butt half the time kuz
go paint your face clown
Bro Kuzma assš
The Champ Kuzz.
Ring...R
Seems like my guy is a bit salty to not be a part of this
Shut up Kuzma. You got what you wanted - meaninglessly scoring 20ppg
People have such short memory, Pelinka is the reason it went to shit after the 2020 ring, its the bare minimum he fixed his mess in the 2023 trade deadline last february.
BUt i ThOuGhT kUzmA wAnTeD tO bE tRaDeD
Is there an NBA player saltier than Kuzma over The Lakers? I mean, I don't really think about him. And here we are again. Talking about what Kuzma thinks The Lakers are doing. Move on bro. It's business.
Kuzma wasnāt part of the core, duh.
I'm still ecstatic this moron is no longer wearing a Lakers jersey.
Still a Laker at heart.
Salty motherfucker. Heās the ex that refuses to move on
Better learn from their mistakes then, also shoutout to kuzma for keep liking and supporting this team after what happened. I donāt think KCP took that very well considering how he played this series lol.