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Why the Lakers Need To Save Kuzma from Becoming the Forgotten Man!

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After a promising rookie season where he averaged 16.1 points per game, shot 36.6% from deep, and was declared a steal as 27th pick in the draft, Kyle Kuzma’s become the forgotten man on the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster.

While his three-point shooting declined to 30.3% playing alongside LeBron James his sophomore season, Kyle still started and played over 33 minutes per game, averaging a career best 18.8 points and 2.5 assists per game. Unfortunately, with the arrival of superstar power forward Anthony Davis, Kuz lost his starting position this season and saw his stats drop to just 12.5 points in 24.6 minutes per game, while shooting a poor 29.7% from deep.

Now, as the team prepares to take off for Orlando in a couple of days, Kyle has all but disappeared from discussions of which players have a chance to be wild cards and x-factors for the Lakers as the season/playoffs resume. Frankly, the only news we hear about him is social media buzz about dating Winnie Harlow or attending Teyana Taylor’s Album Release Party. Nobody’s talking about Kuz and whether he can help the Lakers win a championship.

Instead, the talk has been about Markieff Morris, Dion Waiters, and JR Smith, three new veteran players whose addition to the Lakers’ playoff roster could end up reducing Kuzma’s playing time and opportunities. Those moves, combined with James and Davis upping their regular season 34 minutes per game to a playoff 40 minutes per game, are going to create intense competition for playing time among Lakers’ bench players.

But it would be a mistake for the Lakers to write Kyle Kuzma off as a player who could be a difference maker in their championship run both because of his potential as a valuable rotation player or trading chip this offseason. Kuzma has too much talent to dismiss him as a bust and relegate him to the end of the bench. Instead, the Lakers need to give him a legitimate chance to shine in the upcoming scrimmages and regular season games.

There are good reasons why the Lakers need to save Kuzma from being the forgotten man. First, he’s finally 100% healthy after struggling all year with an unfortunate foot injury suffered trying out for Team USA this summer. Second, Kyle can return to playing his natural small forward position now that the Lakers have Markieff Morris to backup Anthony Davis at the four. Third, other than LeBron, Kuz is the only true wing on the Lakers’ roster.

Kuzma also showed signs of breaking through right before the season was suspended. In the Lakers’ weekend sweep of the rival Bucks and Clippers, he almost averaged a double-double with 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds. While playoff minutes are going to be scarce, Kuzma could be the wild card on the roster if he could suddenly find his shot and confidence. Giving him an early shot in Orlando could entail minimal risks and major rewards.

Despite struggling with his three-point shot, Kuzma has remained engaged when on the floor and shown improved ability defending, rebounding, and playmaking. Kyle will also be looking for a new contract after next season. Like many Lakers players, the season restart represents a redemption opportunity to put a troubled year in the rear view mirror and show what kind of player he can be. This would be his first opportunity in the playoffs.

Kuzma knows this is could be his last chance to show the Lakers he can be part of their championship future. He’s surely been working hard on fixing his long range shooting and it’s in the Lakers’ interest to give him a last shot. The risks are minimal since they have already locked up the #1 seed in the Western Conference and the reward could be a talented young wing on a roster dominated by guards and bigs and an invaluable trading chip.

So, despite the talk about who’s going to replace Avery Bradley and how the three new players could be the wild cards, the Lakers would be smart to make sure they save Kyle Kuzma from becoming the forgotten man.

The Road to 2020 NBA Championship Goes Through Lakers’ LeBron James!

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There are many reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers are favored by the Las Vegas oddsmakers to win the 2019-20 NBA championship but they all start with superstar LeBron James, who’s still the greatest player on the planet.

LeBron may not be the greatest athlete in the game or able to leap over tall buildings like when he was young but his unrivaled physical conditioning, championship experience, and elite basketball smarts remain unmatched. Nobody playing today — not Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, or Steph Curry — has the winning gravity and unparalleled two-way ability to dominate playoff games and series like LeBron James.

Once the NBA resumes in a month, LeBron will remind the doubters and naysayers, who’ve conveniently forgotten who he is and what he’s done, that he’s still the King and the road to the championship goes through him. He gave Giannis and Kawhi a preview of what to expect in the playoffs as he dominated play at both ends in the Lakers’ weekend sweep of the Clippers and the Bucks before coronavirus forced the league down to shut down.

Consider the unprecedented challenge NBA teams and players are going to confront in these playoffs, with games played in a bubble in the middle of a pandemic with no fans or home court advantage after a three-month delay. These are conditions where championship confidence, experience, and savvy prevail, when those who’ve been there before, know how to focus on the moment, handle the pressure, and live up to to the expectations win.

Before play was suspended, LeBron and the Lakers were playing their best basketball of the season, had catapulted over the Bucks and Clippers to top the NBA power rankings, and had generated championship momentum. There’s reason to believe, given time to become fully rested and healthy plus a daunting set of draconian conditions they’re best suited to handle, LeBron and the Lakers should be even bigger favorites to win the title.

This year’s playoffs are not a crazy, anything-can-happen, March Madness tournament where wild card outcomes and surprise upsets are going to dominate the day and untested underdogs have unexpected advantages. These playoffs are going to be a gruelling, taxing second season played under extraordinary conditions that favor poised, focused, motivated, experienced veteran teams and players with the will and skill to prevail.

The road to the 2020 NBA Championship is going to be an arduous trek filled with obstacles and hurdles never before encountered, ending with the ultimate challenge of going through LeBron James and the Lakers.

What Could the NBA Do To Support Racial Justice and Black Lives Matter?

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While the NBA’s always been a leader in allowing its players to raise their voices against racial injustice, the time has now come for the league to take a stronger stand and support its players in a push for major social change.

No professional sports league has as high a percentage of black players, as supportive a culture, or as progressive a commissioner as the NBA, whose owners and players have worked together tirelessly to build bonds of trust. Threatened by a deadly pandemic with dire economic consequences and a plague of police brutality that has players questioning whether to play, the league must find new ways to support the fight against racial injustice.

The current protests over the blatant murders of black men have touched the hearts and minds of people in America and around the world unlike any of the prior situations and are not going to go away without major change. If the NBA wants players to welcome returning to play in Orlando, they need to come up with a serious program the players will wholeheartedly embrace to support the cause of Black Lives Matter and racial justice.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions the NBA should consider which would give the players a powerful platform to promote Black Lives Matter and a strong motivation and justification for returning to play:

1. Dedicate the resumption of the NBA season and playoffs to BLM.

2. Have everybody present kneel before each game to honor BLM.

3. Contribute 10% of all television and radio proceeds to BLM.

4. Require advertisers to make similar 10% contributions to BLM.

5. Add BLM patches to all NBA jerseys worn by players and sold to fans.

6. Invite black celebrities to talk about BLM in special pre-game shows.

7. Invite black entertainers to create special BLM halftime shows.

8. Have top players of each game talk about BLM in post-game show.

9. Sell 1,000 special specially protected BLM seats for each game.

10. Auction actual player uniforms and memorabilia from each game.

These are just ten ideas I came up with off the top of my head but I’m sure the professional marketing staffs of the NBA and the teams could find even more ways to support their black players and promote Black Lives Matter. Ultimately, the goal is motivate the players to return to play in Orlando and give them a powerful platform with which to support and raise money and awareness for Black Lives Matter to create and support social change.

NBA Season and Future Threatened by Black Players’ Decisions About Playing

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With America and the world coming together in a unprecedented moment of universal support for Black Lives Matter and rejection of racial injustice, black NBA players are struggling to decide how they should move forward.

At the heart of the decision facing black NBA players is whether to agree to the NBA’s proposed plans to resume play in Orlando beginning July 31st. While some are eager to return playing, others appear to be reluctant. While the NBA has been a poster child for owners and players working together, the lack of agreement about returning to play among the players could threaten both the current season as well as the future of the NBA.

Should enough players decide not to play, the NBA would likely be forced to cancel the season and playoffs, which would inevitably lead to the owners using Force Majeure to terminate the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That would force the owners and player to renegotiate a new CBA and could end up with the league and the players cancelling this season and next season, which would mean massive financial losses for both sides.

Right now, black players seem to be split into multiple groups. Some prominent players like Lakers’ superstar LeBron James sincerely believe playing in Orlando won’t deter their “ability to continue inspiring change.” James, of course, is naturally focused on leading the favored Lakers to their 17th NBA championship and winning his fourth ring so the last thing he wants is to lose that opportunity by having the season cancelled.

Others like Dwight Howard believe “basketball isn’t needed at this moment” and would only distract from progress being made by the protests and “start a trickle-down effect” that could undermine the power of the moment. Howard’s willing to make the sacrifice: “I would love nothing more than to win my very first NBA Championship, but the unity of My People would be an even bigger Championship, that’s just too beautiful to pass up.”

The Nets’ Kyrie Irving has taken the narrative to another different level and is outwardly distrustful of the NBA and contends “something smells fishy” about the league’s plans to resume play, which the players should boycott. Irving’s sincerity could be questioned since he’s also currently injured and would not be able to return until next season and enjoys the security of a recently signed lucrative long term contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

There’s also a group who are genuinely concerned about the potential risks of major injury due to returning to play so soon after the long layoff or contracting Covid-19 as a result of playing in the middle of a pandemic. Finally, there are others concerned about the bubble and the stringent rules that will have to be enforced in Orlando to keep players safe and healthy and don’t want to be locked up in isolation for such a long period of time.

There’s so much financially at stake it’s hard to imagine the NBA owners and the various groups of players not being able to find common ground to keep the plans to resume the season in Orlando on schedule as planned. And as monumental as the promise of progress towards racial justice is, black NBA players must ultimately know a basketball hungry fanbase and media provide the best possible platform for promoting their cause.

What’s happening around the country and the world today with the protests and support to end racial injustice and inequity offers black NBA players an opportunity to unite to use their voices to support major change.

Four Reasons Why the Lakers Should Sign DeMarcus Cousins as Free Agent!

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Should the NBA expand team rosters for the rest of the season and playoffs from 15 to 17 players, the Los Angeles Lakers would be wise to use one of the two additional roster slots to sign DeMarcus Cousins as a free agent.

While we don’t know whether Cousins has recovered from his injuries, there’s a chance he could be ready to play since he was on schedule to return mid-June and the playoffs have been postponed until mid-August. The reasons for signing Boogie if the league expands rosters when play resumes goes beyond the help he might provide on the court. It’s about building a sustainable championship dynasty around LeBron and AD.

Returning from the multiple major injuries Cousins suffered may be a long shot but it’s one the Lakers embraced and doubled down on by keeping him on the roster most of the season until waiving him to sign Markieff Morris. While many doubt Boogie can ever recover to be anything close to the superstar he was, the Lakers obviously believe he’s a risk worth taking so using an extra roster spot to sign him as a free agent should be a slam dunk.

Like the decision to keep him on the roster after his injury last summer, the Lakers are pursuing Boogie more for his fit as a stretch five center alongside Anthony Davis next season than any hopes he can contribute this season. Even though it may be a long shot he could come back and help the Lakers win a championship, here are four solid reasons why the Lakers should sign DeMarcus Cousins as a free agent if the league expands the roster spots:

1. Signing Boogie could help the Lakers win the championship.

Talk about bad luck, DeMarcus Cousins has had more than his share. After earning an All-Star selection his first season with the New Orleans Pelicans, Boogie was on the precipice of huge payday when everything went bad.

The chances of Boogie coming back and playing this season may be just a pipe dream but, if healthy, his ability to stretch defenses as a stretch five with his three-point shooting could help the Lakers win the championship. The two extra months he has because of the coronavirus suspension could be the catalyst to Cousins being able to help the Lakers against teams like the Bucks and Clippers who like to pack it in against LeBron and AD.

Bottom line, the Lakers could bring Boogie along slowly with a goal for him to be their wild card when they face the Clippers in the West Conference Finals in mid-September or the Bucks in the NBA Finals in early October.

2. Signing Boogie could be insurance if McGee or Howard goes down.

With the NBA regular season and playoffs scheduled to resume in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic likely still to be raging, the Lakers and other teams need to face the reality players may get injured or test positive.

Should one of the Lakers’ two centers JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard get injured or test positive for Covid-19, the Lakers’ chances of winning an NBA championship could be in serious jeopardy without a capable replacement. Signing DeMarcus Cousins as insurance would be smart. He spent most of the season with the Lakers, knows the players and coaches, and would be the perfect backup to step in and replace McGee or Howard if needed.

The main purpose of the league expanding team rosters is for teams to add insurance players in case multiple players on their roster get injured or test positive for Covid-19. That’s exactly why the Lakers should sign Cousins.

3. Signing Boogie could strengthen the Lakers’ team chemistry.

Team chemistry is going to be a huge factor when the games resume, especially with all teams in the bubble, no crowds, and no home court advantage. Teams with weak chemistry are going to quickly wilt.

Even if he rarely plays, DeMarcus Cousins on the bench could really help the Lakers team chemistry. He has close relationships with key players on the team, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Rajon Rondo. There’s also a chance cheering from the bench may be the best substitute for the missing crowds of fans as teams play in empty arenas and the Lakers’ bench may be the league’s most vocal and demonstrative bunch.

In a normal season, the playoffs are an arduous grind. In the middle of a pandemic where everybody gets tested daily, the pressures are going to be intense and adding Boogie to the Lakers’ bench could be a smart move.

4. Signing Boogie could guarantee the Lakers sign him next season.

When push comes to shove, guaranteeing DeMarcus Cousins would sign with the Lakers for the 2020–21 season would be reason enough alone to sign him as a free agent for the rest of this season even if he doesn’t play.

There’s a reason why the Lakers kept Boogie on the roster for most of this season despite knowing his injury history and the likelihood that he would not be able to play until next season. He is the perfect fit to play with AD. Anybody who thinks the Lakers don’t understand the medical challenges Cousins faces to return to 80% of the superstar he used to be is blind. The Lakers know the odds may be long but the reward would be incredible.

The Lakers are playing chess while the rest of the league plays checkers. That’s why, if the league expands the roster spots for the rest of this season and the playoffs, the Lakers are going to sign Boogie as a free agent.