Kyle Kuzma’s time with the Los Angeles Lakers is coming to an end.
After yet another disappointing overall campaign, following his team’s loss to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs, Kuzma signaled on social media that he was moving on.
Around the same time, reports began to surface about how desperately the Lakers wanted to trade him.
At this point, the writing is on the wall. Kuzma and the Lakers don’t fit in a way that benefits either side, and now a divorce is imminent.
This week, in a conversation with Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report, Kuzma essentially threw Lakers head coach Frank Vogel under the bus for his own poor play.
“My biggest thing is I just want to play within a consistent role,” Kuzma said.
“If I have that ability, I’ll be able to showcase what I can really do. There were parts of this year—and even anywhere else in my career—when I’m in a consistent space, I’m out there handling the ball, making teammates better, scoring, shooting, defending, rebounding. I think if I’m in that space, I’ll be good.”
While Kuzma may sleep better believing that Vogel is the cause of his woes, the truth is that he only has his own inconsistency to blame for where he is today. He had all the hype in the world surrounding him after his rookie campaign, but the 25-year-old’s regression has dulled it significantly.
Yikes. https://t.co/rP9DViKpei
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 14, 2021
Then again, given the delusion he showed when recapping how this season went for him, perhaps Kuzma’s assessments shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Fortunately, Kuzma won’t have to deal with Vogel’s coaching for much longer. LeBron James wants him gone. The Lakers are talking with multiple teams. And there are murmurs of a blockbuster trade with the San Antonio Spurs that, frankly, makes too much sense to ignore.
At this point, Kuzma’s departure is a matter of when – not if.
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