Just a few days ago, Kyle Kuzma was traded to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster deal that sent Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers. Kuzma will be joined by Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Washington, as they are now linking up with the likes of Bradley Beal who is one of the best shooting guards in the entire NBA. It is going to be an interesting pairing and fans are excited to see how it all goes down next season.
Of the three players sent to the Wizards, Kuzma is easily the most polarizing. There are numerous fans out there who have slandered Kuzma into oblivion over the past year or so, and it has all culminated into this trade. Regardless, he was still well-liked by his teammates, including veterans LeBron James and Jared Dudley.
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In fact, LeBron and Dudley held a nice going-away dinner for Kuzma over the weekend as they linked up at a local L.A. grill. The three took a picture together and it's clear that there are no hard feelings over Kuzma's exodus from the team.
After the trade, Kuzma took to Instagram where he wrote a letter to the Lakers saying: "Man oh man where do I begin??? Lakeshow we’ve had a journey," Kuzma wrote. "I was 21 and just a young pup coming here and you guys opened up your arms openly and accepted me into the LA community! Coming into to this league I told Robby, Jeanie and Magic that all I wanted to do here is help be apart of something special and help be apart one of those banners (now) 17 banners and dammit we did it! I wouldn’t change anything about my journey everything has been a lesson to me! Ive learned the game of basketball from some of the best players to ever do it on earth while being in LA and now it’s time for me to get out there and really spread my wings and be who I say I am. LUV LA I’m a laker for life."
Kuzma seems to be excited for his new opportunity, which is great to see, especially after a difficult year in Los Angeles.