Kyle Kuzma is not a good fit for the Cleveland Cavaliers

Kyle Kuzma is a fancy name but he’s not an organic fit for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to use their big ol mid-level exception this offseason to land a free agent. The hope is that he’s a small forward, or someone who can fill in at the three, and who has the ability to shoot from beyond the arc. If they can play passable defense that’ll be good, but if he can play better-than-average defense, that’d be better. So despite clearly looking for a typical three-and-D type of player, there are some who think Kyle Kuzma fits the Cavs’ needs.

Spoiler, he doesn’t.

That hasn’t stopped Evan Dammarell of Right Down Euclid from suggesting that Kuzma is a name the Cavs could covet with their mid-level exception, saying;

"Instead, keep an eye on free agency, with multiple sources saying Kuzma is now becoming a more realistic target for Cleveland to sign with their full mid-level exception. Those same sources said that the Utah Jazz, the Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets could also be in the mix for Kuzma and, more importantly, offer the high-scoring forward more money in free agency."

Kyle Kuzma isn’t going to help the Cleveland Cavaliers be better in 2023-2024

A lot of people may not see the issue with the Cleveland Cavaliers going after Kuzma, but people need to realize that just because they have a fancy name that makes people excited, doesn’t mean that adding them will help the team. Personally, I really like Kuzma as a player. He’s someone I’d want to have on my team, even with his silly attire off the court. The problem is, I would only bring him on if I need a forward who can score up close.

Kuzma shoots from behind the three-point line more than anywhere on the court, and he’s only a 34% shooter from there. If he’s not shooting threes, he’s shooting mid-range jumpers from about 10′ away. That’s not winning basketball, which is why the Washington Wizards, with three 20-point scorers (including Kuzma), only won 35 games last year.

He’s also someone who, historically, has been bad on defense. The Cavs’ perimeter got cooked by the Knicks in the playoffs, and the answer is to bring in someone to play small forward who can’t defend the perimeter. What sense does that make?

They need a small forward who can shoot threes effectively, and who can play good perimeter defense; Kuzma does neither of these things, so why blow the entire MLE on him?

• Published on 06/21/2023 at 01:20 AM
• Last updated at 06/21/2023 at 01:20 AM