Spencer Dinwiddie brings up Kyle Kuzma’s Lakers tenure as Nets star continues to fire shots

David Akerman
3 Min Read

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie is preparing for his team’s first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, but he recently found some time to go after former Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma.

“You know that you’re there shooting shots to try to get a contract,” Dinwiddie said. “You’re probably not even a third star really on a good team because if you were the Lakers would have kept you.”

Kuzma later went on a tangent and hit out at his former teammate for his comments in a lengthy thread on Twitter, furthering the feud between the two players, which seemingly began in late January.

When looking at Kuzma’s time with the Lakers, it was pretty successful overall. He won a title with the team as a key role player during the 2019-20 season and averaged 15.2 points and 5.6 rebounds on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 33.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

His numbers with the team did take a bit of a steep dive after his first two seasons in the NBA, though that decline can partially be blamed on the acquisition of Anthony Davis, who helped the team win a title in 2020 alongside Kuzma.

Over the past couple of years, the Michigan native has opened up a bit about his departure from the Lakers, saying that he was “ready to be more” right after being traded. He also stated that he wished he “would’ve gotten the fairer end of the stick a little bit” with his role in Los Angeles.

During the regular season, it was reported that the Lakers had inquired about reacquiring Kuzma from the Wizards, though no deal wound up materializing.

The former first-round pick is expected to decline the $13 million player option he holds for next season and receive solid interest in free agency this summer.

He’s certainly earned it, as he recorded 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season while connecting on 44.8 percent of his shots from the field and 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.

While some Lakers fans would surely love to see him back in Los Angeles, that seems pretty unlikely.

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David is a University of Maryland graduate who has spent most of his life in Miami. He has experience in writing, editing and video production. He is a proud contributor of Lakers Daily.