NippySudz wrote:stan francisco wrote:I agree with most of the above, except I don’t think you’ve yet seen what a junkyard dog he is. You’re the LeBron (not Lakers) fan, right? He isn’t even in his groove yet. Watch the last 10-15 games of the previous season. I didn’t see him on Team USA but I heard Pop was lyrical.
My big disagreement is that I’m convinced that he won’t fold at a big challenge, he’ll step up to the plate and he’ll grow quickly. He’s a very fast learner, very bright kid. He means business.
Like I’ve said all along, I think that Kuz’ max ceiling is as the third star on a championship run team. If he remains a Laker, he could be a part of a championship dynasty.
And, I’m still convinced that if we keep him past ASB, which I think we should, he’ll be our third star before the season is over. Yes, star.
By April, he’ll outperform KCP, Green, and everyone else not named LBJ, AD, AC when it comes to +/-. That’s my prediction. Couple that with volume scoring.
He has the talent. He puts in the work. He’s smart and uber confident.
If he plays WITH LeBron and AD a bit more, he could be the Worthy to Magic and KAJ.
Yeah, comparing him with Worthy is sacrilege around here. What I said was that I think he’s got that as his ceiling for his career, his max potential.
Tell Kuz that and he’ll say he’s gonna beat out Worthy before it’s retirement time.
I get it. He's a gamer. But you speak so much about intangible stuff that's just word salad.
If he was a gamer but he did all the little things it takes to win then I would agree with your argument..Caruso is a gamer. He gets up for the competition. Russell Westbrook, plays with a ton of energy
Russell Westbrook isn't helping anyone win a championship in my estimation just because jes a cut throat competitor.
I'm not a Laker fan per se but I like watching them play. I was very high on kuzma last yr for the some of the things you mentioned. What really sold me on kuzma last yr was when LeBron groin popped and kuz amd rondo led them to the victory. Kuz was fearless in that game and it was against the warriors iirc. I'm like okay, this kid got something. He got. A little mamba mentality. A lot of guys can fold under that pressure and he stepped up.
But what I saw through the course of that season was inconsistent. I didn't put much stock into it. When I heard aboit all the stuff he was marketing on social media about him being in the gym, I believed and defended him when people say otherwise. Pete zayas even says he's talked to Laker people that can attest to the fact he wants to get better. So I believed it
But now, I kinda don't. I believe he's about his brand, which is fine but unsure if he put the work in. Ingram even hinted a lot of guys got distracted by outside distractions when he was on the lakers. Kuzma was the only young core not to go. Speculating but that hints something to me. He's focused on the attention while not producing on the court. Last yr was fine because he was with some young bulls. The yr before, he was a rookie.
I started to seeing the decisions he made. Kuzma never had a high bbiq and for some reason, I overlooked this. Before a few days ago, his career high in asts was two. He hasn't found that balance between being a Willi passer or overwilling passer. He doesn't play to matchups. he plays basketball like he's at the rec league but with professionals.
He's a solid guy. I don't like how's arrogant he's gotten but he's not a bad kid. We were all young at some point but at the end of the day, I just think he has a ceiling of being a solid role player. Not star. He can be the third leadkng scorer on the team but I wouldn't call that a star. Jr Smith was the third scoring person on the Cavs championship, jr isn't a star but he wasn't a bad pick up with the Cavs.
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I said last year when he was struggling with his shot but Kuzma may have the "mamba mentality" but unfortunately he doesn't have the full mamba ability. Luke Walton had those serious talks about him playing the right way esp making the extra pass at times he would do it even though it wouldn't reflect on his assists total. I remember the 24 yr old Kobe being a black hole too but again the difference is his ability to produce even at difficult situations, drawing fouls, pull ups etc.
One bright spot is how he defended Westbrook last Saturday. Hopefully Vogel would use him more as a designated defender bec other than that esp when AD comes back, he would be reduce to a 23 mins relief player who would hope his perimeter shot would fall.
