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The Chicago Bulls dropped Game 1 of their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks 93-86 and Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma knows why. With Game 2 on deck for Wednesday, many have already counted the Bulls out.
Even before a better showing than anticipated in the opener, a slew of suggestions from outsiders who have mapped out different variations of the team’s future.
Kuzma chimed in with his take.
That is an innocent enough assessment to offer up. Except Twitter is not always the best place to go for reasonable reactions. Right on cue, Bulls fans put their recruiter’s caps on.
Full-Court Press
Kuzma’s harmless input was met by the masses, many of them Bulls fans constantly looking for ways their favorite team can improve. They let Kuzma know that he could very well be that missing piece.
Others were blunter in their directive for the fifth-year forward out of the University of Nevada who averaged 17.1 points setting career highs with 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Washington Wizards this season.
That same user even replied to another with, “need him here NOW”.
“Stop tweeting and get out there with Caruso then bud” commented @ChicagoBulls_12.
That wasn’t the only person to bring up a reunion between the Lakers alum.
Other Fans Notice
This was bound to get some responses from Laker Nation, and they certainly did not disappoint. User @KimoLBJ_ said, “just say u wanna join them”.
That one drew a response from Bulls fan @BuiltDiffy who did not mince words saying simply, “yes we do”.
Some users even asked a pertinent question when it comes to the Bulls.
The Bulls had to forfeit a second-round pick after being found guilty of tampering with offseason trade acquisition, Lonzo Ball.
Of course, not all fans were on board with some citing that getting their inured point guard back from meniscus surgery would be a bigger boost than the 6-foot-9 Kuzma with @DanTati51 saying, “Nah we need our main facilitator back. Ball movement is lackin”.
Enjoying the Game
That was not the only tweet he sent out about this game. Kuzma’s previous tweet answered his own question of whether Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid is more dominant.
Kuzma picked Antetokounmpo, for what it’s worth.
He showed love to his former teammate, Caruso, for his defensive efforts ranking him right behind Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday and Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics. Kuzma also agreed with @CuffsTheLegend that the scrappy Bulls guard was a “culture changer”.
Kuzma even snuck in a point about the Bucks that the Bulls would be wise to heed going into Game 2.
“If you hit threes against the bucks you can win. They give up a ton of em”.
To his point, the Bulls got off 37 triples in Game 1. They only met or exceeded that mark six times in the regular season and ranked 30th in three-point attempts per game despite ranking fourth in efficiency shooting 36.9% as a team.
Unfortunately, they could not deliver in this contest, hitting just seven of their looks from downtown.
Status Update
The 27th-overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Kuzma spent the first four years of his career with the Lakers after being traded on draft night for a package that included D’Angelo Russell, now of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was traded again on August 6, 2021, as part of a five-team deal that landed Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles.
He has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract at $13 million with a player option for the 2023-24 season, per Spotrac.com, so any hopes of snagging the versatile forward will hinge upon the Bulls swinging a deal with the Wizards.
Washington let it be known that Kuzma was not available ahead of the trade deadline.
He missed the final 13 games of the regular season with knee tendinitis despite the Wizards trying to hold off on shutting him down.
Perhaps they could be more easily persuaded now with the looming financial decision of both Kuzma and Bradley Beal.
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