Kyle Kuzma was a crucial part of the 2020 NBA championship for the Los Angeles Lakers. He showed great positional versatility by guarding different types of players during the championship run, as well as providing some scoring as well. While Kyle Kuzma was never considered a star by most fans, he was certainly a fan-favorite among the Lakers faithful.
Some players hold grudges after they are traded from one franchise to another. It's easy to see how trades could be hurtful to a player, especially if they've spent multiple years at a franchise, and spent their time and energy fighting to win with that franchise. However, it seems as though Kyle Kuzma holds no ill will towards the Los Angeles Lakers, and his former teammate LeBron James for how things went down. In a recent clip taken from the No Chill podcast with Gilbert Arenas, Kuzma revealed that "it's all love" between him and the franchise. (3:06)
“It’s all love. All love for sure. A couple of days after I got traded, we were hanging out, chilling or whatever.”
“I came in as a Laker that's all I know. It was family from the jump. And even leaving, it was still family. You know getting calls or texts from Jeanie or Rob or equipment managers or people that work the front gate. Everyone is like, ‘Hope you have a successful career. You’re doing this and that." So no bitterness, no nothing for sure.
While leaving a contending team is definitely not ideal, Kyle Kuzma will have an opportunity for a bigger role with the Washington Wizards. If he puts his defensive skills and the scoring from his earlier Lakers years into one package, he could become a solid two-way player. Hopefully, Kyle Kuzma will be able to improve from this season, and he'll have every chance to succeed with the Wizards.
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