RealGM

I agree with OP's overall point (that he can be a missing piece) but apparently for different reasons.

JustBuzzin wrote:Kyle Kuzma is like the modern day Rashard Lewis. He can stretch the floor and hit 3's but can also get to the rim. He's a underrated scorer and as a 3rd option. He is also long and can defend when he's on a team who plays defense. I can see him helping a contender. Imagine this guy on Philly as the 3rd option.

This scouting report is out of whack
- Kuzma is a bad 3-point shooter. He's willing and confident, but we're talking about a career mark of 33% who has only hit league average 3-point shooting once (his rookie year). He shoots 34% on wide open 3s over the past 3 years (23rd percentile). This guy is not improving your spacing unless he's replacing a total non-shooter.
- He's not long. This is one of Kuzma's biggest weaknesses. He's got the dreaded negative wingspan (He's 6'8" with a 6'7" wingspan).
EDIT: I was wrong about this one. His wingspan is 7'0"
- I think he's almost the opposite of Rashard Lewis. Kuz is an underrated ball handler, playmaker, transition attacker, and cutter. He struggles at spot up shooting. Unlike Lewis, he's physically aggressive, but he lacks Lewis' physical gifts (he was 6'10" with a 7'3" wingspan).

Where I think Kuz can really help a team is being a wing-sized playmaker who's aggressive and has solid matchup versatility on defense. Even though he had his minutes/role cut in the playoffs, I felt he was super functional for LA in his last season there. He's a strong fill-in-the-gaps kind of guy. I don't see him as a 20ppg scorer on a good team, I see him as a better version of LA Kuz: maybe 14ppg, 6rpg, 3apg. I think he'd look great in Phili or OKC, in an offense where everyone gets to attack off the dribble a bit. I think he'd stuggle in a place like Dallas where they need their role players to space and shoot, or on a team like Toronto/Orlando where the spacing is too tight for him to drive.

Credit to Kuz for staying out of the limelight while Poole is out there declaring this his team and claiming that opponents game plan around him. All while Kuz is vastly outperforming him.


Wizards would be better off trying to dump Poole and waiting to trade Kuz next season when the remaining years on his deal are more manageable and invites more suitors.

cupcakesnake wrote:- He's not long. This is one of Kuzma's biggest weaknesses. He's got the dreaded negative wingspan (He's 6'8" with a 6'7" wingspan).

Kuzma is 6'-8" barefoot, 6'-9.5" in shoes, and has a 7'-0.25" wingspan.
His standing reach is 8'-11.5". He absolutely is long.

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro?SeasonYear=2017-18&dir=A&sort=PLAYER_NAME

I wouldnt mind having Kuzma in Dallas. I imagine Washington will expect a good return for him though, which makes no sense.

dockingsched wrote:Credit to Kuz for staying out of the limelight while Poole is out there declaring this his team and claiming that opponents game plan around him. All while Kuz is vastly outperforming him.


Wizards would be better off trying to dump Poole and waiting to trade Kuz next season when the remaining years on his deal are more manageable and invites more suitors.

It would be nice, but Poole is unmovable at the moment. He is perhaps the worst contract in the league. Fortunately, the Wizards have a very clean cap sheet with the exception of Poole, so they can carry that salary for a while. Maybe Poole figures things out and starts playing well enough to be moved.

I agree that the Wizards aren't in any hurry to trade Kuzma. He is doing a good job as the team leader. And the Wizards actually need his ability to take on high usage because most of their other young guys are better-suited as lower usage role players. I figure Kuzma sticks around at least until the 2025 Trade Deadline, and probably until the 2025 offseason. They might look to move him then when he has two years left on his deal (and those years are cheaper) and the Wizards will hopefully have some young prospects by then who they are trying to groom as primary options.

nate33 wrote:

cupcakesnake wrote:- He's not long. This is one of Kuzma's biggest weaknesses. He's got the dreaded negative wingspan (He's 6'8" with a 6'7" wingspan).

Kuzma is 6'-8" barefoot, 6'-9.5" in shoes, and has a 7'-0.25" wingspan.
His standing reach is 8'-11.5". He absolutely is long.

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro?SeasonYear=2017-18&dir=A&sort=PLAYER_NAME

My bad. I checked a normally reliable source that must have made a typo.
My apologies to Kuzma's length!

dirkforpres wrote:I wouldnt mind having Kuzma in Dallas. I imagine Washington will expect a good return for him though, which makes no sense.

I like the guy but not the fit. He is not a good shooter or outstanding defender and in Dallas he would spend his time standing in the corner, we would not take full advantage of his abilities, however OG (worst player in a vacuum) would give us a championship ..I could see Kuzma become an all-star (Wiggins style) on a team like the Heat, Spo is a genius and the kid is talented

Mike lorenzo wrote:

dirkforpres wrote:I wouldnt mind having Kuzma in Dallas. I imagine Washington will expect a good return for him though, which makes no sense.

I like the guy but not the fit. He is not a good shooter or outstanding defender and in Dallas he would spend his time standing in the corner, we would not take full advantage of his abilities, however OG (worst player in a vacuum) would give us a championship ..I could see Kuzma become an all-star (Wiggins style) on a team like the Heat, Spo is a genius and the kid is talented

I think Kuzma is capable of more of a role on Dallas than just spot shooter in the corner. Guys like Reggie Bullock, Finney-Smith, and Grant Williams have no choice but to play that role because theyre not really capable of creating their own shots. Kuzma is at the very least, pretty good at finding his spots. Now as to whether or not I have faith in Jason Kidd to realize that... Thats a whole other debate in itself.

Kuzma the GOAT

Imagine who on what team?

Tobias Harris is having a monumental year as the 3rd option for Philly.

Lol at getting Kuzma to replace him. Harris is much better.

ROballer wrote:Imagine who on what team?

Tobias Harris is having a monumental year as the 3rd option for Philly.

Lol at getting Kuzma to replace him. Harris is much better.

Harris is indeed having a good season and is reminding everyone that he was fine as a 3rd option scorer for much of his career before he was relegated to 4th option role player in the Harden years.

I think Kuzma and Harris are on the same general tier, with Harris perhaps being a bit better. "Much" better is a stretch, though.

I agree that he is not needed in Philly.

JustBuzzin wrote:Kyle Kuzma is low key a underrated trade piece come trade deadline. I would honestly rather have Kuzma for much less money than take on a contract like Zach Lavine.

Kyle Kuzma is like the modern day Rashard Lewis. He can stretch the floor and hit 3's but can also get to the rim. He's a underrated scorer and as a 3rd option. He is also long and can defend when he's on a team who plays defense. I can see him helping a contender. Imagine this guy on Philly as the 3rd option.


What contenders could Kyle Kuzma help?

Your obsession with Kuzma is cringe. Yet another example of your poor basketball understanding.

lambchop wrote:

Phreak50 wrote:A missing 5th piece perhaps.

But no 5th piece is worth 102 million dollars.

Just realized that his salary will decrease every single season. Contract length is probably too long for him to be interesting as a 5th option, but I could see teams making moves during his penultimate season (25/26) when future projections are somewhat easier.

Also, availability is often a lot more important than worth to contending teams that are over the cap (ironically, or maybe not so ironically.) Guys like Kuzma are generally available because they are somewhat overpaid.

This seems relevant
?t=k6cBZBEw-xuE9IVstlQcfg&s=19

Your two stars are going to take up about 90m-100m, Kuzma will take up about 20m. This leaves you about 20m-50m in cap space to fill out all the intangibles, which is where my issue with Kuzma is. Kuzma brings 22ish ppg on 55% TS. This isn't really efficient scoring, he doesn't add much in the way of play making, rebounding, or defence which is kind of what you hope for a little out of your 3rd option.

If you aren't scoring on great efficiency you have to bring more if you are going to take up that much money or be a great fit.

Kuzma is a modern day Rashard Lewis, the same way Anthony Edwards is the modern day Michael Jordan. There are similarities to their games, but Kuzma is just much, much worse

A lot of fans like to say point producing players on bad teams are empty stat guys. Kyle Kuzma is 100% one of those guys. As others have said, he's a 12-13ppg player with wild consistency on a contender

These threads of people hating Kuz is hilarious. He is putting up identical numbers to Siakam last year and everyone cant wait to give him 40M/year in his 30's.
Tobias Harris does his job well, but Kuz us CLEARLY having a better year, on a MUCH better contract, and is 3 years younger.
Kuz is leading his team in Points, Assist, Usage, and is 2nd in rebounds. He is clearly the #1 option and every opponent circles him on the stat sheet.

That said, Kuz's value isn't his stat line this year, even though its very impressive. It is that 1) He has proven to be a winner as a 3rd option on a Chip team, so he knows that role. And 2) His contract. With the new cap structure, getting your 3rd/4th options at a low cap number is key to not getting crushed by the Lux tax. Kuz is locked into a 4-year declining contract, which allows a team looking to make a 3-4 year run a viable partner. He can be your 4th Option and STILL be under the Lux Tax...That is big.

firedavidkahn wrote:This seems relevant

Read on Twitter

?t=k6cBZBEw-xuE9IVstlQcfg&s=19

Seems like a majority of that is Poole tho? He has a smaller role and more turnovers, less effective scorer, worse defensively, and makes a ton of plain stupid decisions, and consistently has a way worse net rating with him on the court than Kuz. Plus nobody is thinking Kuzma should be a #1 or 2 option.

Asianiac_24 wrote:Kuzma is a modern day Rashard Lewis, the same way Anthony Edwards is the modern day Michael Jordan. There are similarities to their games, but Kuzma is just much, much worse

WHAT?!? Kuz and Lewis are nothing alike. Lewis was a 3 & D forward, while Kuz is a playmaking forward. He is more like a modern-day Antoine Walker, but more efficient and better attitude.