Young Lakers star Kyle Kuzma is no stranger to the rumor mill. Since he arrived in Los Angeles two seasons ago, his name has been the subject of countless trade rumors.
Even now, the rumors persist, and Kuzma is again faced with the noise of being a Laker. According to Kuzma himself, it’s all just a part of the process…
“I mean, I just got to not worry about it. For me, I’ve been in trade rumors ever since I came here. I think that’s just a thing that happens when you’re a Laker,” Kuzma said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You’re always in trade rumors, especially around this time, so it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, you just control what you can control.”
With their young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers had to make a choice. In order to surround LeBron James with a winning cast of stars, the team would have to give one, or all, of them up in a trade.
Of course, Kuz ended up being the only remaining member of that core. B.I., Zo, and Hart were swapped for Anthony Davis.
The Lakers chose Kuzma and, admittedly, he’s struggling to find his role. Averaging just 12 points on 42% shooting, he is posting career-lows in most statistical categories this season. As a result, he has been thrusted into the rumor-mill.
Clearly, it’s not something that he’s worried about anyway.
