The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be down and out after the Denver Nuggets romped to a 3-0 series lead yesterday. Despite leading the game by four points at halftime, the Lakers succumbed to another remarkable second-half Nuggets comeback. This defeat puts LeBron James & Co. on the verge of a premature exit from the 2024 playoffs, as the Nuggets need just one more win to clinch the series.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a horrid series against the Nuggets. And former Laker Kyle Kuzma further rubbed salt into their wounds by clowning the Lakers’ hierarchy for letting him leave three years ago. After the Lakers lost Game 3 of the series, Kuzma took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Backkkk dennn they didn’t wantttt mee.” 

Kyle Kuzma clearly doesn’t subscribe to the saying, “Don’t kick someone when someone’s down.” However, LA’s management must regret trading him for Russell Westbrook in 2021. They would wholeheartedly welcome a player of Kuzma’s size and skill now. The Los Angeles Lakers have particularly struggled to deal with the size that the Nuggets possess. LA’s defense has posed little to no threat against players like Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. They have had a field day exploiting their defensive mismatches against the Lakers’ defense. Aaron Gordan recorded a playoff career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds in Game 3 of the series.

At 6’9”, Kyle Kuzma is exactly the type of player that the Los Angeles Lakers are currently missing. Furthermore, Kuzma’s scoring prowess would have definitely tilted the scales in favor of the Lakers. He has averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 70 games this season. Despite this, Kuzma donning the famous purple and gold stripes looks improbable because of his past remarks.

Kyle Kuzma and his simmering feud with the Lakers management

Relations between Kyle Kuzma and the Lakers’ hierarchy started on good terms. He was among the players LA’s top executives chose not to trade when LeBron James joined the Lakers in 2018. Kuzma rewarded their decision when he played a telling role in the Lakers’ 2020 title triumph.

During the 2020 NBA Finals against the Heat, Kuzma averaged 21.6 minutes per game and tallied 51 points across six games. However, the Lakers traded Kyle Kuzma to the Washington Wizards in order to acquire Russell Westbrook just a season later.

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It didn’t go down well with Kuzma, as he felt unwanted. He has publicly mocked LA’s decision to trade him on multiple occasions. In an interview with Fox Sports, he said, “I think it just shows you the grass is not always greener. It’s definitely a good thing because at the end of the day, that means I’ve been playing well, and I have value in this league, that a team would want to trade for me. It’s a blessing.” 

With Kyle Kuzma taking every chance to remind the Lakers’ management of their mistake, it’s looking like a reunion with LeBron & Co. is out of the picture at the moment.