Kyle Kuzma revealed that he's open to the idea of playing with his former teammate Jordan Clarkson. Last August, Kuzma toured in the Philippines. The Filipinos gave him a warm reception and was treated like a celebrity. It appears that the Washington Wizards star appreciated the reaction he got from the Philippine crowd and is willing to go as far as representing the national team.
During an interview with All-Star Magazine, Kuzma opened up about the possibility of playing with Clarkson again. However, this time around it could be for Gilas Pilipinas. The Wizards star said that although his priority is to play for Team USA, he wouldn't mind suiting up for the Philippines if the opportunity presents itself.
“I mean, if I didn’t play for Team USA, I mean, I could rock out with [Jordan Clarkson],” Kuzma said in the interview. “That would be cool.”
Is it possible for Kyle Kuzma to play with Jordan Clarkson in the Philippine national team?
Jordan Clarkson and Kyle Kuzma used to be teammates during their time with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017-18 NBA season. While their time together may have been brief, the two stars built and maintained their friendship over the years. Now the stars of their respective teams, it has been eight years since the duo joined forces. However, Kuzma is hinting that there's a possibility of him teaming up with Clarkson again by suiting up for Gilas Pilipinas.
The question now is, can Kuzma play for the Philippine team? The Washington Wizards star can play for the Philippines as long as he becomes a naturalized Filipino. However, the process of doing so takes a hefty amount of time. If Kuzma genuinely plans on suiting up for Gilas, the best thing to do would be to take immediate action.
Hypothetically speaking, Kuzma does end up becoming a naturalized Filipino, can Gilas accommodate two foreign players on their team? Unfortunately, the answer is no. According to FIBA's rules, only one naturalized player is allowed per team. Clarkson is already occupying that spot. Unless the Philippines would allow him to represent the team as a local player, the pairing of Clarkson and Kuzma is unlikely to happen given the current situation.
The probability of fans witnessing the unison between Clarkson and Kuzma would be in the NBA. There might come a time when the two stars end up on the same team again.
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