Andre Drummond is expected to play a huge role for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. Since his arrival, however, his performance has been rather up-and-down, leaving Lakers fans wondering if he’ll be able to find consistency.
Amid increasing pressure on Drummond to step up, Lakers youngster Kyle Kuzma chimed in with a rather harsh take about Drummond’s past, citing that the “process” was going to be especially difficult for the big man, who has “never been coached in his career.”
“I mean, it’s just a process, man. It’s not going to happen overnight. Rome wasn’t built overnight. I think that for him, it’s a big adjustment. When you think about it, he’s kind of really never really been coached in his career. Playing in Detroit, in Cleveland, and then coming here into a championship organization, it’s tough. It’s tough.”
That seems like a direct shot at Drummond’s former coaches, which include Lawrence Frank, Maurice Cheeks, John Loyer, Stan Van Gundy, Dwane Casey, John Beilein, and J.B. Bickerstaff.
Coming from a guy like Kuzma, who is far from the focal point of his team, makes it even worse. Kuz has always been confident in himself and his team, so it’s really not shocking to hear him call out other coaches.
As for Drummond, we’ll see what Frank Vogel is able to do with him. As an old-school rim-running big, his specialty is grabbing boards, scoring under the rim, and protecting the paint. It’ll be interesting to see how well he does for the remainder of this campaign.
