The Los Angeles Lakers seemed unstoppable just a few weeks ago, but after a four-game losing streak was capped by a loss to the rival Clippers on Christmas Day, critics of the Lakers are getting louder. Earlier this week, Kyle Kuzma’s own trainer attempted to start a beef with LeBron James, which the four-time MVP squashed on Saturday.
On Friday, Instagram posts surfaced from Kyle Kuzma’s trainer, Clint Parks, that included harsh criticism of Lakers star LeBron James.
Parks called James out after his Christmas Day performance against the Clippers, insinuating that it was clear that James’ Los Angeles counterpart Kawhi Leonard had sharper skills than James.
Kuzma’s trainer claimed that LeBron James was running from the matchup against Leonard and, basically, wasn’t as good as he was being made out to be.
Then, all of a sudden, Kuzma dropped a tweet himself that said “Call a spade a spade” with a shrug emoji. The tweet was deleted shortly after it was posted.
Boy, that paragraph was peak 2019. Anyway, take a look.
The next day, James was asked about the criticism from Kuzma’s trainer and the deleted tweet from his own teammate. He said Kuzma came to him to address the situation and it was fine, but he also had some not-so-kind words for Kuzma’s trainer.
“Kuz came to me yesterday, after practice and told me what was going on. And that was it. I really don’t care for someone’s trainer or whatever the case may be. Everyone can have their own opinion and anytime someone wants to get some notoriety they can throw my name in and people are going to 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 about the guy.”
Sheesh. That’s a scathing statement from James and not a great look for Kuzma. Even if Kuzma isn’t openly endorsing his trainer’s comments, it’s never great to have to go and explain something to a teammate of yours after practice.
Hopefully, it doesn’t lead to a disruption in chemistry down the line for the Lakers. They certainly don’t need it — they’re losers of four straight and have a matchup on the road against the Trail Blazers coming up. Now isn’t the time for drama.
