Cavs killer could become the fifth starter in proposed trade

Would the Cavs do this trade for Kyle Kuzma?

Kyle Kuzma is playing some of his best basketball this season, taking advantage of an increased role to put up career-best scoring numbers. The Flint, Michigan native is also shooting 46.4 percent from the field, the highest of his career, showing that the increased shot volume isn’t decreasing his efficiency.

Playing with the Cavs, however, he would slot into a smaller role. He would have a chance to win and win big, as the Cavs are playing as well as any team in the league and have the best net rating in the NBA. Is he looking for a larger role somewhere, however? If so, and if the Cavs can’t get some indication that he would be open to sticking around this summer, trading their few remaining assets for a few months of Kuzma seems less palatable.

The other major issue is that Kuzma is not a shooter. He can hit shots, certainly, and did so against the Cavaliers and earlier in his career with the Los Angeles Lakers en route to a championship in 2020. Yet he is a career 34 percent shooter hitting just 34.6 percent this season, and his free-throw mark (72 percent for his career, 69 percent this season) shows little optimism in that department.

Adding a talented scorer to the starting lineup is tempting, but ultimately it will run into the same problems as having Caris LeVert start. Kuzma is a good scorer with the ball in his hands, and a decent passer, but he’s not going to be better than Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell. Giving him the ball produces less efficient offense, and playing him off-ball hurts the spacing.

Ultimately, this is not the player for the Cavs to pursue. If they are going to push in the chips for a small forward he will need to be a strong outside shooter. Otherwise, they are just perpetuating the same issues they currently have. Kyle Kuzma is a great player but he’s not what the Cavs need to put them over the top.