The Washington Wizards have provided a lot of entertainment this season, but for all the wrong reasons. The team is 2-8 and is expected to be one of the worst teams in the league. Kyle Kuzma is reflecting those beliefs with his behavior on the court, ignoring the Raptors inbounding the ball to go argue with a referee on the other side of the court, leading to an easy layup for Scottie Barnes.
https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1724261004052205925
The Wizards held a 23-point lead that evaporated with the Raptors constantly attacking and looking to score after a slow start. The Wizards players started getting lazy as the game progressed, as seen with this Kuzma play and Jordan Poole’s viral clip of ignoring what his coach was drawing up out of the timeout.
Kuzma and Poole have a championship pedigree, winning a title apiece alongside two of the generation’s most iconic players. However, it doesn’t look like they’re motivated to bring winning success to Washington with the way both of them have been playing.
Jordan Poole And Kyle Kuzma Disappointing Fans
Nobody expected the Wizards to be good, but the attitude of their two star players has come under fire as the team struggles. Kuzma has been solid on the court, averaging 24.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, continuing to show the league that he is a highly valuable forward in the NBA.
He can thrive as a piece on a title team, but it does look like he’ll need a locker room leader to answer to. He’s not shown the qualities of a team leader or a veteran, especially with his focus on flashy plays with Poole even when the team is trailing big.
Poole has been selling on the court but is operating like a star. Succeeding in the Warriors system when all opposing teams are game-planning for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson before you is one thing, but Poole has clearly not shown any signs of being a capable No. 1 option in Washington.
Not only should Poole take a backseat to Kuzma, who looks like a far more complete player, but he might need to spend a few seasons in Washington to refine his game to be a well-rounded point guard. He’s averaging 16.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists this season on 41.2% from the field and 30.3% from three.
The lack of direction on the Wizards has to be a major factor behind why Poole and Kuzma are acting the way that they’ve been seen this season. Wes Unseld Jr. hasn’t shown any signs of being an elite coach, while the team just doesn’t have the competitive players it needs to make any noise in the East. As far as one season is concerned, they may be perfectly content letting Kuzma and Poole do what they’re doing and bite the bullet with a potential top-three pick next year.
Kuzma could have great trade value around February, given his four-year, $90 million contract is fair for what he can provide. He’s a high-level 3-and-D forward who can impact the game in many ways, whether he’s asked to score with the ball or play off the ball. The same can’t be said about Poole and his heliocentric offensive style, so it’s likely the Wizards will keep him to unearth his full potential instead of selling him at a loss.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
