The Official Kyle Kuzma Thread

[gambitx777]

Here is the thing. At 13 mill a year Kuz is a fine player. He's paid for what he is at the moment. And it's a fair price. Now if he wants 25-30 when his deal comes up then you're in trouble.

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[FAH1223]

Damn! I thought Kuzma’s contract in 2023-24 was a regular year but it’s a player option!

He’s definitely testing free agency but unless he makes a jump to like Tobias Harris levels, I don’t know what that bidding war looks like

[smoothSeph]

Damn! I thought Kuzma’s contract in 2023-24 was a regular year but it’s a player option!

He’s definitely testing free agency but unless he makes a jump to like Tobias Harris levels, I don’t know what that bidding war looks like

Harris is a good comparison because he got paid at 26 I believe. Harris got 36 mil per year and was only putting up 20 and 8.

Kuzma is putting up 16 and 9. I see no way his market is less than 25 mil to be honest. And that might be generous.

[FAH1223]

Damn! I thought Kuzma’s contract in 2023-24 was a regular year but it’s a player option!

He’s definitely testing free agency but unless he makes a jump to like Tobias Harris levels, I don’t know what that bidding war looks like

Harris is a good comparison because he got paid at 26 I believe. Harris got 36 mil per year and was only putting up 20 and 8.

Kuzma is putting up 16 and 9. I see no way his market is less than 25 mil to be honest. And that might be generous.

It's going to be interesting to see what the cap spike will look like in 2024 and onwards. The new TV deal should be signed then.

[payitforward]

Damn! I thought Kuzma’s contract in 2023-24 was a regular year but it’s a player option!

He’s definitely testing free agency but unless he makes a jump to like Tobias Harris levels, I don’t know what that bidding war looks like

Harris is a good comparison because he got paid at 26 I believe. Harris got 36 mil per year and was only putting up 20 and 8.

Kuzma is putting up 16 and 9. I see no way his market is less than 25 mil to be honest. And that might be generous.

Harris is not a model for Kuzma, & 2 numbers ("20 and 8") doesn't represent how deeply a FO looks into players! Nor does the two players' ages mean what you seem to assume it does, since Harris was drafted when he was fully two years younger than Kuzma.

In any case, it's likely Kuzma will be traded before this becomes an issue.

edit: I don't understand why to worry about whether it'll be possible to hold on to Kyle Kuzma...?

[doclinkin]

In any case, it's likely Kuzma will be traded before this becomes an issue.

Doubt it. Scuttlebutt after the trade deadline was that teams said the Wiz were making every player available except Beal and Kuzma.

[NatP4]

Let him test FA and put up empty numbers and he overpaid for some other team

[pcbothwel]

Kuz as a 13M expiring do-it-all forward is great value for a contender. He can guard multiple positions and eat up possessions/minutes for a top heavy team. But we are not that team, so we should look to move him.

That said, Im not sure we get the best value for him until the next deadline. In the meantime, I do think his rebounding and ability to bully ball smaller wings will be a nice fit next to KP

[nate33]

Who is the better player?

Spoiler:

Player A is Kyle Kuzma per 36 minutes when on the floor without Beal
Player B is Bradley Beal per 36 minutes when on the floor without Kuzma

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Who is the better player?

Spoiler:

Player A is Kyle Kuzma per 36 minutes when on the floor without Beal
Player B is Bradley Beal per 36 minutes when on the floor without Kuzma

Good comparison Nate. And it doesn’t even include defense. Kuz has been underrated on that end. He’s not a stopper by any means, but he can tolerably guard 3-5 and can switch onto any one in a given possession.

[DCZards]

Who is the better player?

Spoiler:

Player A is Kyle Kuzma per 36 minutes when on the floor without Beal
Player B is Bradley Beal per 36 minutes when on the floor without Kuzma

You left out FT%.

Kuz has played much better than I think any of us expected. I said from before the season began that he was the new piece that I was most “intrigued” by.

I’m glad to have both Kuz and BB on my fav team. Maybe the foundation of something to build on…especially if KP can ever get and stay healthy.

Imagine if we had a true PG…someone who could allow BB to focus on playing SG and better D.

[nate33]

Who is the better player?

Spoiler:

Player A is Kyle Kuzma per 36 minutes when on the floor without Beal
Player B is Bradley Beal per 36 minutes when on the floor without Kuzma

You left out FT%.

Kuz has played much better than I think any of us expected. I said from before the season began that he was the new piece that I was most “intrigued” by.

I’m glad to have both Kuz and BB on my fav team. Maybe the foundation of something to build on…especially if KP can ever get and stay healthy.

Imagine if we had a true PG…someone who could allow BB to focus on playing SG and better D.

FT% (and attempts) are factored in TS%.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Who is the better player?

Spoiler:

Player A is Kyle Kuzma per 36 minutes when on the floor without Beal
Player B is Bradley Beal per 36 minutes when on the floor without Kuzma

You left out FT%.

Kuz has played much better than I think any of us expected. I said from before the season began that he was the new piece that I was most “intrigued” by.

I’m glad to have both Kuz and BB on my fav team. Maybe the foundation of something to build on…especially if KP can ever get and stay healthy.

Imagine if we had a true PG…someone who could allow BB to focus on playing SG and better D.

Last season the Hawks drafted a pure point guard and buried him so far behind Trae young I believe his name is Springer.

[gesa2]

Springer went to the Sixers CCJ. I think you’re thinking of Sharif Cooper. Dat2U loved him if I recall.

[payitforward]

Who is the better player?

Spoiler:

Player A is Kyle Kuzma per 36 minutes when on the floor without Beal
Player B is Bradley Beal per 36 minutes when on the floor without Kuzma

You left out FT%.

Kuz has played much better than I think any of us expected. I said from before the season began that he was the new piece that I was most “intrigued” by.

I’m glad to have both Kuz and BB on my fav team. Maybe the foundation of something to build on…especially if KP can ever get and stay healthy.

Imagine if we had a true PG…someone who could allow BB to focus on playing SG and better D.

FT% (and attempts) are factored in TS%.

All the same, this is a little bit unfair -- just in the sense that an average 4 puts up better numbers overall than an average 2.

For example, on the season, Kuzma's TS% is .554 while Brad's is .546 -- but Brad is only @ .7 of a percentage point below an average 2 guard, while Kuzma is @ 1.5 percentage points behind an average 4.

More significant, to me at least, is that Kuzma is having a better season than he did last year -- which had been his best season to date. & he's doing it on more minutes & more usage.

More shots & more FTAs per 40 minutes, yet still a higher TS% than last year.
More defensive rebounds -- 44% more!
Overall, his assists, turnovers, steals, blocks & fouls are slightly ahead of last year.
The only negative is a drop in his offensive rebounds.

It's worth noting that the improvement in his TS% is 100% a function of his getting to the line more than he did last year. His eFG% is actually a bit down from last year.

Overall, Kuz still isn't really even average in his efficiency numbers. All the same, he's improved while carrying more of a load. That's good!

[nate33]

All the same, this is a little bit unfair -- just in the sense that an average 4 puts up better numbers overall than an average 2.

For example, on the season, Kuzma's TS% is .554 while Brad's is .546 -- but Brad is only @ .7 of a percentage point below an average 2 guard, while Kuzma is @ 1.5 percentage points behind an average 4.

More significant, to me at least, is that Kuzma is having a better season than he did last year -- which had been his best season to date. & he's doing it on more minutes & more usage.

More shots & more FTAs per 40 minutes, yet still a higher TS% than last year.
More defensive rebounds -- 44% more!
Overall, his assists, turnovers, steals, blocks & fouls are slightly ahead of last year.
The only negative is a drop in his offensive rebounds.

It's worth noting that the improvement in his TS% is 100% a function of his getting to the line more than he did last year. His eFG% is actually a bit down from last year.

Overall, Kuz still isn't really even average in his efficiency numbers. All the same, he's improved while carrying more of a load. That's good!

You are comparing overall numbers.

If you look at Kuzma's production when Beal isn't on the floor alongside him, his scoring and TS% are above league average for a forward.

[FAH1223]

Kuzma’s PPA since December 23rd, 2021 has been 145!

Well above average.

Read on Twitter

[Ruzious]

He's thrived with the much higher usage %'s in January and February https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kuzmaky01/splits/2022 though his turnovers have been problematic.

With 25 games left, he can probably get his averages up to 18 points and 9 boards per game on solid scoring efficiency. It probably makes him a good tradable asset - a piece that could be used to be the centerpiece in a trade for a better asset.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Springer went to the Sixers CCJ. I think you’re thinking of Sharif Cooper. Dat2U loved him if I recall.

Right you are!

Cooper out of Auburn, played only a handful of NCAA games but showed more than enough.

Thanks, gesa2...senior moments are becoming more frequent.

[payitforward]

When the big trade happened, it wasn't a matter of our targeting Kuzma -- the idea was to move Russ for... value. Of any kind. First conversations about Kuzma were about moving him if I recollect rightly.

Then, he started the season playing well -- half way through he was slightly above his previous season productivity level, suggesting that he still had development in him. But, by the time the season ended, Kuzma was somewhat behind his level of play from the previous year. Which suggests that he's at his peak/prime. No surprise: he turns 27 this Summer.

Kuz is not going to help us become a contending team. It's time to trade Kyle Kuzma. Use him as a way to get younger.