Arguments For and Against the Kings Trading for Kyle Kuzma
Hearkening back to James Ham’s appearance on Michael Scotto’s podcast he was asked about kozma whether that was a possibility obviously kozma this past off season was somebody that the kings were talking to seemed like there was progress in those talks but I guess the the conversations kind of went blank
For a week plus and ultimately the Kings went with Barnes but kozma’s always been someone connected with them and ham still believes that kozma is a viable option for the king and his his main rationale behind that is the fact that Kyle kma’s contract that he signed with the Wizards this offseason is
Front-loaded meaning it it it regresses in price Year bye so with that you’d be getting a guy that you know has star power it’s getting paid a lot but it would regress Year bye as you need to pay you know sabonis is contract Fox’s contract you know you’ll be paying
Murray at one point you you’ll have to pay monk this offseason sets up for a financial situation where you can improve while still having some Financial flexibility as time goes on makes a lot of sense also another factor that can make it interesting is that tus Jones is there he’s got a tradable
Contract I think at about $14 million a year and I think he’s on a I think is it expires after this season too I think it’s on a just a oneyear deal I believe so so that even increases the fact that the Wizards who are historically bad team this year especially on the
Defensive end so you could maybe pull off a trade to get kozma and get tus Jones and that could set up for a situation where maybe you move mon to the starting lineup you got Jones as your Sixth Man in the guard position you got kozma starting for Barnes you’ve
Just technically upgraded herder and barns in a trade situation but the question becomes how much are you upgrading with kozma and is it in the right areas are you sold on any idea of moving to kozma I don’t know it’s the contract kind of scares me if it was
Like a one-year deal I’d be like sure maybe even a 2-year he still got three years left after this year on his contract I don’t know though I kma is just interesting it’s it’s I think personally I mean he was decent on the Lakers and he seemed he seemed more
Bought into defense in LA with LeBron and seemed like a an important piece in a way when they won that Championship during the the bubble I think I mean ever since then he was kind of giving the reins of a crappy wizard team and I
Mean why not who else is there kman is a capable scorer probably you know thought playing defense as hard but I think it kuzma has played decent defense and is a versatile guy versatile athletic forward can probably guard the small in the power forward not the best stretch
Option but he can hit hit him decent from the corners and at least he can score too like we we talk about Murray and I get it Murray’s you know probably going to be a lot better next year but kma at least for the rest of this season
In the playoffs can be that legit third scoring option that the Kings don’t really have at the moment and going forward maybe he can go back to I don’t know if he’ll want to but that third fourth scoring option behind Murray and maybe get a little more out of his
Defense and then getting tus Jones for the rest of the year would be pretty good too it’s just like can you get anyone better going forward I mean you wanted him in the offseason like what’s the difference now and who are you going to get next year if you get rid of
Barnes you know say say if you say if you get rid of barnes’s contract and need you need to pick someone up in the offseason like is there going to be someone better is there going to be someone better to trade for that’s where the Kings really have to start like
Figuring it out he just he just makes a lot of sense but he’s just kind of scary at the same time right you you you worry about his defense you worry about how committed he is to winning and not stat batting but I mean he has a championship
So and played a an important role on that Lakers team so I don’t know I mean I would say I would say this it’s definitely I think ham is right to say that it’s definitely a possibility and it’s up to the Kings to do the D diligence to figure out whether or not
Would work to the level that they they need really and it can I think it definitely can and it also can’t it depends on a few things I mean obviously he’s got the the tools to defend has he done it in in Washington not necessarily
But I would come him a lot of slack because Washington is a defense that since he’s been there I think his first year there they were bottom five in the league they were bottom 10 the following year last year and then this season they’re like one of the most
Historically abysmal defenses ever in the NBA so how much is a defensive culture like that which is to say really not much of a defensive culture what does that have to do with him being motivated on that end whereas by contrast you’d be getting him with Mike
Brown a guy that’s really all about defense a guy that would really allow him you know they give kozma his offense in a lot of ways but you’d have to imagine they’d be really hyping him up as a Defender and I think kosma is a guy that just to contrast him with someone
Like Zack LaVine I mentioned I think when we talked about Zack LaVine a couple of weeks ago that there was a article in the Chicago Sun Times about Billy Donovan putting out a a film session for his team after some big defensive mistakes especially late in a
Game led to a loss and LaVine was asked about the mistakes in that game and he said I didn’t really think there were that many mistakes he clearly had some issue coming to terms with the fact that the defense wasn’t that good and he’s always kind of been a little delusional
About how good of a Defender he is kosma by contrast on this terrible defensive team has been asked extensively obviously I mean it’s a huge topic there in Washington that this is a terrible defensive team and I mean he comes at it not like in a way that’s like oh he’s
Super motivated on the defensive end but but he’s very level-headed about it he understands that the defense is terrible and that it needs to be better and that you need defense to win I mean he’s he’s quoted his saying stuff like that and the demeanor that he has with that does
Suggest that he he knows the importance of that end in in winning and it it’s so hard to ever really kind of like put your best foot forward on that end of the floor when you’re on these terrible teams defensively with no defensive culture with very little motivation and
Actually having a chance to win anything so I think getting him on a team like Kings the situation they’re in with the head coach that has a justifiable desire to improve the defensive end and has has proven that you know whether it was with the with the Warriors or some of those
Cavs teams or back in his time with San Antonio I mean he’s a guy that has the track record to show that successful teams will defend I think he could get something out of kumma I think he’s got the tools to to be a good Defender can
He do it that’s a question offensively like you said he could he could create on his own I think if you’re talking about a situation where oh the kings are all of a sudden being forced to either go away from sabonis as a Creator or
Move them off the floor and go L’s at the five when they’re facing small lineups with five Shooters on the floor well kozma all of a sudden kind of gives you that other playmaker now kusma is not as great of a playmaker as as sabonis but you’d be filling in that
Need a little bit more you’d be able to make those adjustments you’d be able to have answers for small lineups you might be able to push their hand from going away from small lineups to get sabonis back on the floor you know so I think in
A lot of ways his playmaking is is a key factor in this because I think especially with those small lineup situations against sabonis I think that really brings that into the Limelight there I think like you said he shoots well from the corners you’re going to
Want that he’ll run hard to the corners probably and shoot well from there he’s successful from there not great from above the break and I don’t think he’s a great mid-range shooter but you’d be kind of getting that ability to get inside ability to create for himself and
Maybe for other guys he’s got again the tools on defense you’d be a rebounder I mean in a lot of ways I could see kusma working but it’s just about whether or not the kings are bought into all that is all that going to be the case because
It’s it’s it’s easy to say that there’s a possibility he could do all that stuff but is he going to check all those boxes and do they need him to check all those boxes it’s not certain that he’ll check all those boxes and it’s definitely needed that he checks all those boxes so
It’s just up to the Kings at this point whether they want to do that
Should the #Kings trade for Kyle Kuzma? Tony and John discuss.
*From Episode 84 of Cap City Crown’s Kings Talk Podcast.* https://youtu.be/sh4t4AoYzh0
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