Following the Los Angeles Clippers' win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, Kyle Kuzma's trainer, Clint Parks, took to Instagram to praise Kawhi Leonard and criticize LeBron James, saying “it's clear who's really in the lab and who isn't.”
Leonard poured in 35 points and 12 rebounds in the Clippers' 111-106 victory while James finished with just 23 points and 10 boards while shooting 9-of-24 from the floor and 2-of-12 from three-point range.
Obviously, Parks' post raised some hairs and the fact that Kuzma then tweeted out “call a spade a spade” (which he then deleted) after his trainer's comments only further fanned the flames.
Kuzma said on Saturday that he and James have talked and that all is well, but told reporters that he has not spoken to Parks, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Kuzma said he has not spoken to Clint Parks about his posts. He would not say whether he would continue to work with him. "I don't know. That's a private conversation. So, that's not really a conversation to have with you guys."
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 28, 2019
The third-year forward also would not elaborate on whether or not he would continue to work with Parks, saying that that would be a “private conversation” and not one that he would air out in the media.
Kuzma added that his relationship with James is “great,” but based on what has occurred over the last week, it seems somewhat hard to believe that everything is just fine between the two players.
One also has to wonder whether or not Kuzma still harbors ill will toward LeBron for last season's trade deadline, when James pushed the Lakers to trade their young players (which may or may not have included Kuzma) to the New Orleans Pelicans for Anthony Davis.
Eventually, Los Angeles landed Davis in June without having to surrender Kyle Kuzma, but it seems relatively likely that James would have been just fine with Kuzma being dealt for Davis last February.
The Lakers are 24-7 and are aiming to snap a four-game losing streak against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
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