The current controversy involving the NBA and China has had a butterfly effect throughout the entire league. What was initially a spat between the nation and Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has now impacted so many other aspects of the game.

One player in particular who turned out to be a bit of a casualty of this controversy is none other than Los Angeles Lakers rising star Kyle Kuzma. As reported by The Athletic's Bill Oram, Kuzma and his camp actually already had laid out plans of how they intended to publicize the 24-year-old's endorsement deals with a number of local brands — something that they had to completely forgo following the unfortunate turn of events.

Kuzma’s plans to announce additional sponsorship deals with Chinese companies were scrapped once the Lakers arrived on Tuesday and found themselves caught in the middle of a stalemate between the NBA and the Chinese government.

Oram also details in his write-up how Kuzma has actually become quite a huge star in China. As a matter of fact, his popularity in the billion-strong nation might actually exceed his star presence in the United States. Unfortunately for him, the timing of the Morey-triggered conflict could not have come at a worse time on a personal level.

The sad reality right now is that Kuzma is not the only personality who will be harnessing the negative implications of China's feud with the NBA. The league itself is expected to lose millions of dollars unless this problematic issue is resolved, and surely, there are a lot of other players, teams, and companies, who will likewise feel the unwanted financial consequences of this league-wide problem.