Right now, stories about the Los Angeles Lakers either have to do with injuries, Magic Johnson tampering, the trade deadline and the impact it had on the roster and how the team will try to get past those distractions. At some point, it’d be nice to focus on basketball.
During an appearance on “The Official Lakers Podcast,” Kyle Kuzma spoke about the importance of figuring out how to focus on things outside of the above drama, as well as what he and his other young teammates can do to stay out of trade talks.
It’s really telling that even if young players are trying to have themselves prepared for stuff like that, Kuzma speaks to the impact those factors have anyway. It’s really understandable when you think about it. Most these guys are living out their dream of suiting up for the Lakers, but a couple of their heroes (Magic Johnson and LeBron James) are directly linked to wanting them shipped out. Of course that would wear on them.
Kuzma also makes an interesting point about the differences between handling those rumors now versus when his coaches or other older players had to deal with them:
These comments were made before Magic walked in and spoke to the team about dealing with trade rumors, so Kuzma saying this was by no means a response to that meeting. That said, it really speaks to how out of touch Magic sounded when he called out the media for “babying” guys whose names were publicly in trade rumors last week.
Kuzma himself pointed to a game where anyone could’ve noticed the impact trade rumors had on the team:
These were really honest and telling quotes from a guy who went from being a darling of the organization to merely a trade asset last week. That had to shake Kuzma. But still, as tough as that might’ve been, he’s somewhat correct in his assessment that it’s on players to keep their own name out of trade rumors. That’s the right way to approach it, but it might not matter.
Given how desperate the Lakers became to land Anthony Davis, it’s unlikely there is anything Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram or the rest of the young core could do to stay out of those trade talks. The better they play, the more likely New Orleans asks for them in a trade. Maybe it means one fewer asset is asked for because of the value they bring, but I just can’t see Magic behaving the way he did last week and completely rethinking that stance in a few months.
It’s going to be interesting to see how all this plays out. The Lakers are getting ready for what will be a brutal stretch of schedule as they try to get into the playoffs. They have to focus if they stand a chance of making it. But the front office also hasn’t done much to earn that kind of buy-in. Let’s all hope they figure things out, or else members of the front office will find their name in rumors of their own.
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