Kuzma was having career-lows all across the board in the regular season, averaging just 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. His numbers took an even bigger dive in the playoffs, as he managed just 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per contest.

As expected, this didn’t sit well for Lakers’ fans, who decided to make their dissatisfaction with Kuzma public and started an online petition in which they call for the 25-year-old player not to receive credits if the Lakers win the NBA title.

The petition, with a goal to stop Kuzma from receiving a ring as a title winner, already received more than 4,000 signatures on Change.org out of the required 5,000. 

Kuzma was not entertained with the stunt and didn’t have a pleasant response when asked about it.

“I don’t care. Twitter is for jokes,” said Kuzma.

While the petition won’t change anything, it’s still a good example of how Kyle Kuzma is perceived by basketball fans at the moment. Who knows, maybe these sort of things end up lighting the fire under Kuzma, and he finally starts delivering on his potential.

The post Fans Start Petition Calling for Kyle Kuzma Not to Receive a Ring if Lakers Win NBA Title appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Kuzma suffered an ankle injury during Team USA’s training camp ahead of FIBA World Cup and was undergoing a strict rehabbing process ever since. He had his first full practice of the season with Lakers G Affiliate South Bay Lakers on Wednesday, before joining the first team on Thursday.

“Yesterday was kind of the most running I’ve done, so to wake up and not really have too much discomfort was a good sign,” said Kuzma after the practice. “Getting out here and doing the same thing, and so hopefully it’s the same for tomorrow’s game.”

Kuzma is expected to make his NBA debut in the following days barring any setbacks. However, according to head coach Frank Vogel, he will be subject to minute restrictions.

“[The training staff is] saying around 20 minutes,” said Vogel of Kuzma’s playing time. “So there’ll be a little bit of a restriction there.”

Kyle Kuzma is expected to be an important part of Lakers’ squad this season, with some expecting him to develop into the team’s third star behind James and Davis. Kuzma played 70 games last season, averaging 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

The post Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma Returns to Practice, Expected to Play Soon appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

According to the team, Kuzma suffered a stress-related injury in his left foot while practicing with USA Basketball in the FIBA World Cup event in China in August. He’s been undergoing rehabilitation ever since then, but the team is still unsure when he’ll be able to return to training camp and/or game action.

The team says that Kuzma will not be ready until mid-October, at the earliest. This puts his status for the Lakers’ season-opener on October 22nd against the cross-town rival Clippers in question.

The third-year pro, who averaged 18.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for Los Angeles last season, is expected to be a key piece in a team that will be looking to contend for the NBA title. Before he can even get this campaign going, however, he’ll have to ensure that his foot is healthy enough to withstand the rigors of the NBA season.

The Lakers and GM Rob Pelinka will just have to keep their fingers crossed for now and hope that Kuzma’s foot injury rehab process goes smoothly and that he doesn’t miss too much time at the start of the year.

The post Lakers F Kyle Kuzma Out Indefinitely with Foot Injury appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Speaking with ESPN, Kuzma said that he already worked out with LeBron James and that they both share the same enthusiasm and opinion that many are “underestimating” what this group of players can do.

“We are both definitely excited about the roster and the pieces that we have,” – said Kuzma. “And we think that a lot of people are underestimating us. It is definitely going to be fun playing with all these new guys.”

Having an already exciting group of young players, Los Angeles Lakers added James, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley to the mix. While many consider this to be a challenging group of veterans to deal with, Kyle Kuzma thinks that they just have to work out their chemistry like many other NBA teams.

“A lot of people say we got a lot of different people, a lot of new people,” – he added. “But change can be a good thing. It is not necessarily always a bad thing. There’s a lot of teams in the NBA that need to work on their chemistry; we are just one of them.”

Kyle Kuzma was one of the revelations in the past NBA season. Coming out of college, he was projected to be a second-round pick or even go undrafted. Still, the Lakers took him 27th overall which proved to be an excellent decision. After performing well in NBA Summer League, he went to play 77 games in his rookie season averaging 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He was named into NBA All-Rookie First Team at the end of the season.

The post Kyle Kuzma Says People Are Underestimating the Lakers This Season appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Kuzma was having career-lows all across the board in the regular season, averaging just 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. His numbers took an even bigger dive in the playoffs, as he managed just 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per contest.

As expected, this didn’t sit well for Lakers’ fans, who decided to make their dissatisfaction with Kuzma public and started an online petition in which they call for the 25-year-old player not to receive credits if the Lakers win the NBA title.

The petition, with a goal to stop Kuzma from receiving a ring as a title winner, already received more than 4,000 signatures on Change.org out of the required 5,000. 

Kuzma was not entertained with the stunt and didn’t have a pleasant response when asked about it.

“I don’t care. Twitter is for jokes,” said Kuzma.

While the petition won’t change anything, it’s still a good example of how Kyle Kuzma is perceived by basketball fans at the moment. Who knows, maybe these sort of things end up lighting the fire under Kuzma, and he finally starts delivering on his potential.

The post Fans Start Petition Calling for Kyle Kuzma Not to Receive a Ring if Lakers Win NBA Title appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Kuzma suffered an ankle injury during Team USA’s training camp ahead of FIBA World Cup and was undergoing a strict rehabbing process ever since. He had his first full practice of the season with Lakers G Affiliate South Bay Lakers on Wednesday, before joining the first team on Thursday.

“Yesterday was kind of the most running I’ve done, so to wake up and not really have too much discomfort was a good sign,” said Kuzma after the practice. “Getting out here and doing the same thing, and so hopefully it’s the same for tomorrow’s game.”

Kuzma is expected to make his NBA debut in the following days barring any setbacks. However, according to head coach Frank Vogel, he will be subject to minute restrictions.

“[The training staff is] saying around 20 minutes,” said Vogel of Kuzma’s playing time. “So there’ll be a little bit of a restriction there.”

Kyle Kuzma is expected to be an important part of Lakers’ squad this season, with some expecting him to develop into the team’s third star behind James and Davis. Kuzma played 70 games last season, averaging 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

The post Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma Returns to Practice, Expected to Play Soon appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

According to the team, Kuzma suffered a stress-related injury in his left foot while practicing with USA Basketball in the FIBA World Cup event in China in August. He’s been undergoing rehabilitation ever since then, but the team is still unsure when he’ll be able to return to training camp and/or game action.

The team says that Kuzma will not be ready until mid-October, at the earliest. This puts his status for the Lakers’ season-opener on October 22nd against the cross-town rival Clippers in question.

The third-year pro, who averaged 18.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for Los Angeles last season, is expected to be a key piece in a team that will be looking to contend for the NBA title. Before he can even get this campaign going, however, he’ll have to ensure that his foot is healthy enough to withstand the rigors of the NBA season.

The Lakers and GM Rob Pelinka will just have to keep their fingers crossed for now and hope that Kuzma’s foot injury rehab process goes smoothly and that he doesn’t miss too much time at the start of the year.

The post Lakers F Kyle Kuzma Out Indefinitely with Foot Injury appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Speaking with ESPN, Kuzma said that he already worked out with LeBron James and that they both share the same enthusiasm and opinion that many are “underestimating” what this group of players can do.

“We are both definitely excited about the roster and the pieces that we have,” – said Kuzma. “And we think that a lot of people are underestimating us. It is definitely going to be fun playing with all these new guys.”

Having an already exciting group of young players, Los Angeles Lakers added James, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley to the mix. While many consider this to be a challenging group of veterans to deal with, Kyle Kuzma thinks that they just have to work out their chemistry like many other NBA teams.

“A lot of people say we got a lot of different people, a lot of new people,” – he added. “But change can be a good thing. It is not necessarily always a bad thing. There’s a lot of teams in the NBA that need to work on their chemistry; we are just one of them.”

Kyle Kuzma was one of the revelations in the past NBA season. Coming out of college, he was projected to be a second-round pick or even go undrafted. Still, the Lakers took him 27th overall which proved to be an excellent decision. After performing well in NBA Summer League, he went to play 77 games in his rookie season averaging 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He was named into NBA All-Rookie First Team at the end of the season.

The post Kyle Kuzma Says People Are Underestimating the Lakers This Season appeared first on yoursportspot.com.