Subscribe
Follow Us
Like several other NBA players, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma heard his name tossed about ahead of this season's trade deadline. Los Angeles was said to be interested in acquiring Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, but no deal came to fruition.
Kuzma, now in his second season with the Lake Show, was said to be one of several players included in Los Angeles' offer to New Orleans. In the end, though, the Pelicans wanted a bit more for their star player.
in the Lakers first offer to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis, LA offered Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley and a first-round pick, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 2, 2019
Trade season can be a nerve-racking time for NBA players. For Kuzma, it was no different. The former 27th overall pick recently sat down with Sports Illustrated to discuss his mentality during the recent whirlwind of media speculation.
“It was hard,” Kuzma said. “You can’t really escape these things. You can’t look at your phone without someone sending you a text. You can’t go on social media. I felt like the whole team got very tense.”
Kuzma says games were the toughest:
“Everyone’s screaming at you, and people forget we’re humans too, that everybody has emotions,” Kuzma said. “Fans think we’re just part of a circus, here just to entertain them. I get it, I go on social media and laugh too, but sometimes people forget the people they’re laughing at are humans.”
Kuzma, now 23 years of age, has established himself as a primary option for the Lakers. In 53 appearances this season (51 starts), the Michigan native has racked up averages of 19.1 points on 46.7 percent shooting from the field (31.9 percent from beyond the arc), 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32.7 minutes per outing.
Whether or not the Lakers will include Kuzma in future trade talks remains to be seen. For now, it sounds like he'd like to put this drama in the rear-view mirror.
