The Los Angeles Lakers have suffered a lot of criticism from fans and media alike for some of the bad decisions that they have made over the last four or five years, but they have made some good ones as well in that time. One of those was trading for Kyle Kuzma on draft night in 2017.
Kuzma, who was the 27th pick, played well above expectations for the Lakers and was named into the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2018. He was their most productive rookie, even ahead of Lonzo Ball who they had selected second overall. Kuzma looked primed to take a big step in his sophomore season for what were the rebuilding Lakers, but that offseason saw the team sign LeBron James, which suddenly shifted their focus from rebuilding to trying to compete for championships.
A year later, Anthony Davis arrived via trade and Kuzma saw his role reduce a fair bit. It wouldn’t be long before he found himself on his way out and that happened in 2021, as he was traded to the Washington Wizards.
Kyle Kuzma Explains Why Moving To The Wizards Has Been Beneficial For Him
Kuzma is having his best season in the NBA now for the Wizards, as he is averaging a career-high 20.6 PPG to go with 7.7 RPG and 3.6 APG while shooting a career-best 45.9% from the field. He recently gave an interview to Shams Charania, where he explained why he is having so much success now as compared to his later years with the Lakers.
via The Athletic:
“Being in Washington is really just helping me be myself. I had to show a shell of myself in L.A., playing with greatness, and rightfully so. That’s what you should do playing on a team with those type of players at my position. Whereas being in D.C. has allowed me to be myself and expand my game, which a lot of people probably didn’t think I was.”
He just had to take a backseat considering all the talent that was on that team. It probably didn’t help Kuzma’s development that he wasn’t getting to play heavy minutes, as you want young players to get as much time on the court as possible for them to improve. That just isn’t possible on contending teams, as we see with the Golden State Warriors right now.
Kuzma might not remain a Wizard for much longer, however, as reports indicate that the Suns and the Hawks are interested in him. Whether he gets traded or not, Kuzma looks set for a big payday and he has that trade in 2021 to thank for it.
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