A trainer who has been associated with Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma did not take too kindly to being mentioned in a rant by Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed this week.
Kuzma has been a topic of conversation this week after making some comments about his role on last year’s team both online and in the media. That led Sharpe and his Undisputed co-host Skip Bayless to debate whether Kuzma or Drummond — who was up to his own antics — would be a better fit for the Lakers next season. Sharpe said no question he’d take Drummond and would “trade Kyle Kuzma for Keyshia Cole’s number.”
“Andre Drummond. People need to understand that it’s harder for a big man to be integrated after being brought in midway through the season. He’s not going to be Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid. He could be close to that on a bad team, but on a good team you don’t need him [to do that],” Sharpe said. “I’ve seen Andre Drummond go get 30 [points] and 20 [rebounds] and I’ve seen him have multiple 20-20 ball games. He didn’t need to do that on the Lakers.”
Then Sharpe took aim at Clink Parks, who has trained both Kuzma and Kawhi Leonard.
.@ShannonSharpe on the better fit for the Lakers: Drummond or Kuzma:
“Andre Drummond. He’s not going to be Jokic or Embiid. He could be close to that on a bad team, but on a good team you don’t need that. Drummond can give you 12-14 points and 10-12 rebounds on a nightly basis.”
“You know what I noticed — Kyle Kuzma’s trainer ain’t been doing no talking,” Sharpe said. “The guy that trained Kawhi, he ain’t been doing no talking. Why isn’t he talking? He had so much to say the last two years. I haven’t heard a peep.”
Parks was not too happy about being referenced — albeit not named — during the segment, although he did offer to come on if Sharpe wanted to talk “real hoops.”
“All that sneak dissin just bring me on the show and let’s talk REAL HOOPS,” Parks wrote on Twitter, tagging Sharpe.
Parks’ Comments Landed Kuzma in Hot Water Previously
Parks made some notable comments about Kuzma’s superstar teammate LeBron James that went viral in 2019.
“Watching Kawhi highlights from yesterday. NOBODY wants to speak on how sharp his skill set is compared to Lebrons,” Parks wrote. “It’s clear who’s really in the LAB and who isn’t. Let me hear the excuses I’m on vacation I got nothing but time.”
Those comments coincided with a tweet from Kuzma that read “call a spade a spade.” Kuzma deleted the post shortly after the news went viral.
Kyle Kuzma’s trainer sending out LeBron isn’t working hard and is scared of Kawhi
Kuzma tweets out “call a spade a spade” 👀👀
James said that Kuzma spoke to him about the incident and that they hashed it out.
“Kuz came to me yesterday after practice and told me what was going on and that was it. I don’t really care for somebody’s trainer or whatever the case may be. Everyone can have their own opinion,” James told reporters. “Any time someone wants to get some notoriety they can throw my name in and people are gonna pick it up. that’s why you’re asking me about it. Because my name was in it. I’ve never met the guy, I don’t know the guy, I could care less for the guy. Whatever the case may be, I wish him the best.”
Kuzma and Parks have been working together for years, back to his days at Utah according to 247Sports. He gave an interview to the site about his history with Kuzma.
“Kuz ended up reaching out to me during his redshirt year. He heard about my work with Kawhi Leonard and Tony Snell, and wanted to start working with me because he felt he was similar to them. So, our relationship has just grown from his redshirt year and we continue to work together, and as he’s doing well, it’s helped me and I’ve had opportunities to work with a lot of really good players,” Clint Parks said in an interview with UteZone.
Kyle Kuzma Wants Consistent Role with Lakers
Getty ImagesKyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kuzma averaged 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds during the regular season for the Lakers as the team battled injuries. He started 32 games, playing 28.7 minutes per contest. What Kuzma said he’s struggled with is the lack of a “consistent role,” and believes he could reach All-Star levels if he has that.
” It’s hard to be consistent in an inconsistent role,” Kuzma told Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway. “If I have that ability, I’ll be able to showcase what I can really do. There were parts of this year—and even anywhere else in my career—when I’m in a consistent space, I’m out there handling the ball, making teammates better, scoring, shooting, defending, rebounding. I think if I’m in that space, I’ll be good.”
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Lakers News: Kyle Kuzma’s Trainer Calls Out Analyst