2 reasons why the Kings should and 2 reasons why they shouldn't trade for Kyle Kuzma
By Mat Issa
Reason #1 Against Trading For Kuzma: Hurts Your Spacing
As we alluded to in the last slide, Kuzma can score, but he can't really space. Last season, Kuzma was in just the 31st percentile in 3-point percentage (33.6%). For his career, Kuzma has been above average as a 3-point shooter just twice in seven years.
With that said, raw 3-point shooting isn't a good measure of spacing/shooting. A better indicator is a player's accuracy on wide-open 3-pointers — since those shots are more independent of context. Anyway, that measure isn't too kind to Kuzma, either.
In the last three years, Kuzma has been shooting just 34% on wide-open threes, which is in just the 26th percentile during that time (per the Thinking Basketball database).
With De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis already viewed as below-average shooters/spacers for their positions, it would be really hard to give big minutes to another below-average spacer (which Kuzma clearly is for his position).
To be fair, the new rules have made it easier to win without spacing by prioritizing physicality. However, as the 2024 NBA Finals have shown us, this strategy can be countered by a team that combines great physicality with great spacing (like the Boston Celtics). Regardless, Kuzma's lack of spacing is of great concern to any team that ends up trading for him, let alone one with the Kings' personnel.