LOS ANGELES – Kyle Kuzma is officially safe. The Los Angeles Lakers forward remained in purple and gold on Thursday after the NBA trade deadline had passed and the team elected not to make a move.
Over the past few weeks, Kuzma's name was constantly mentioned in trade rumors involving the Lakers. It seemed more and more likely that Los Angeles would make a trade before the deadline, but the team decided that other teams were asking for too much without an ample return.
Although Kuzma has repeatedly said he's not bothered by all the noise about his future with the team, there has to be a sense of relief being able to continue playing for this title-contending squad. Kuzma spoke after the loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night about the trade deadline passing without him being traded and whether that adds pressure for him to play well moving forward.
“Nope,” Kuzma said. “Just play my role. Come in, play with energy. Crash the boards every time. When I get the ball, just make the best of it. There's no pressure. The media people they may try to make those extra pressures on you, but I trust my teammates, and I trust what we got going on here. I'm just trying to play my role.”
Even though the potential pressure to prove the Lakers made the right move might not be on his mind, the Utah product had a rough night against the Rockets. Kuzma finished with only four points in 20 minutes on 2-of-8 shooting. He was a complete non-factor in a game in which the team could've used a spark off the bench.
Regardless of a less-than-stellar performance against Houston, the promising young forward still has a future in Los Angeles, which could ultimately result in a championship ring for the 24-year-old at season's end.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with this Lakers team moving forward. They may still move to bring a free agent in like Darren Collison, who was actually at Thursday's game sitting by team owner Jeanie Buss. Kuzma may be in the clear, but the same may not be said for some of the other players on the team who could be in danger of being waived to make room for Collison.
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