Kyle Kuzma thanks Lakers fans on Instagram amidst inclusion in trade for Russell Westbrook - Lakers Daily Kyle Kuzma thanks Lakers fans on Instagram amidst inclusion in trade for Russell Westbrook - Lakers Daily
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Kyle Kuzma thanks Lakers fans on Instagram amidst inclusion in trade for Russell Westbrook

Kyle Kuzma Lakers Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday, forward Kyle Kuzma thanked Los Angeles Lakers fans following the agreed-upon trade that sent him to the Washington Wizards.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kyle Kuzma (@kuz)

Kuzma was the No. 27 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

The 26-year-old has played for the Lakers for the entirety of his career in the NBA. During the 2018-19 campaign, Kuzma showed a ton of promise by averaging 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

The Lakers managed to keep him while giving a king’s ransom to the New Orleans Pelicans for superstar Anthony Davis in the summer of 2019. However, Kuzma never found a groove after Davis arrived to L.A.

In fact, Kuzma put up just 12.9 points and 6.1 boards per game last season. He was ineffective in the Lakers’ first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 playoffs.

On Thursday, the Lakers dealt Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to the Wizards for Russell Westbrook and two future second-round picks.