Lakers: Kyle Kuzma’s excuse for poor play is more reason to trade him

Kyle Kuzma tried to offer an excuse for his subpar play this season, but it simply wasn’t good enough.

One name that will be buzzing around the NBA this offseason is Kyle Kuzma. The 25-year-old guard hasn’t lived up to expectations with the Los Angeles Lakers after four years, and his recent performance in the postseason has many Lakers fans wanting him gone.

Kuzma has been pretty quiet on his performance in 2020-21 since he and his Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs. He finally discussed his subpar year in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report and offered a reason why he played so inconsistently last season.

Being an NBA player, his excuse isn’t remotely good enough.

Kyle Kuzma gives a bad excuse for his underwhelming 2020-21 season

Coming into the 2020-21 season, the Lakers, their fans, and others surrounding the team expected Kuzma to take the next step as the team’s third option. Things didn’t come to fruition, and he explained how the lack of a consistent role played a part in his disappointing 2020 season.

"“My biggest thing is I just want to play within a consistent role. If I have that ability, I’ll be able to showcase what I can really do. There were parts of this year—and even anywhere else in my career—when I’m in a consistent space, I’m out there handling the ball, making teammates better, scoring, shooting, defending, rebounding,” Kuzma told Bleacher Report."

Play within a consistent role? Not to be the bearer of bad news, but Kuzma has had a pretty solid role since he’s been in LA. He’s been asked to be a spark off the bench offensively, leading the second unit when LeBron and Davis are out of the lineup. So saying that he needs a more consistent role doesn’t hold too much weight.

Kuzma’s excuse for what was a below-average season isn’t good enough, given that he’s had a solidified role for the Lakers since LeBron joined the team. It will be interesting to see how he and the Lakers progress during the offseason given that the rumors are already swirling around him.