Kyle Kuzma’s 2019-20 season with the Los Angeles Lakers has been a mixed one at the very least. As the one member of the Lakers young core left in Los Angeles, Kuzma had high expectations for himself this season while the fans shared the sentiment.
A third star Kuzma has not been, though. The third-year forward is averaging a career-low in points while shooting a career-worst percentage from the field and three-point territory.
While many may attribute that to Kuzma finding a new role next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, LaVar Ball has a different viewpoint. On his podcast appearance with Complex’s Load Management, Ball was discussing Lonzo’s impact on Zion Williamson when he threw some shade at Kuzma, saying his struggles are due to not having Lonzo has a teammate anymore.
“But I tell you what, take him out the situation and watch what happens (to Zion). I told them what was going to happen to Kuzma and look. They thought I was crazy when I telling them Lonzo made Kuzma.”
LaVar has never been particularly high on Kuzma and Lonzo’s once fellow Lakers core. Most notably last season, LaVar referred to the group as “raggedy” while demanding Lonzo be traded to the Phoenix Suns.
Lonzo and Kuzma, meanwhile, may not be on the best of terms either. Once friends known for their friendly disses on one another, the only public interaction between the two came after one of the Pelicans-Lakers games early this season when Ball seemed to brush off Kuzma. The latter downplayed the incident to the media afterward but neither has had much in the way of interactions whether in-person or on social media since the trade.
But none of that adds any form of logic to LaVar’s quote. Lonzo’s impact on his team is evident but he does not make or break them.
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