Draymond Green believes if the Lakers kept Pelicans’ $158M bound Brandon Ingram instead of Kyle Kuzma, they wouldn’t win the 2020 championship

Draymond Green can consider himself the face of New Media, but his uncalled-for takes like these won’t separate him from the likes of Skip Bayless.

When the Los Angeles Lakers got Anthony Davis back in 2019 in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, three first-round picks and a pick swap, nobody in Laker Nation bothered about how much they lost to pull it off.

It paid off in the short term. They won the 2020 championship in a shortened season which was eventually played in a Bubble.

📸 Your 2019-20 NBA Champions! 💜💛 #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/bgezwK5LAJ

— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 12, 2020

But now, after witnessing the following two seasons, that trade stinks as AD has failed to carry his fitness, let alone a load of a franchise.

And especially seeing how those trade assets have developed in the two years after the Purple and Gold gave them up to get The Brow, it must be painful for the fans. They could have had a dynasty in making by now with surely more than one championship.

But keeping aside that total disaster or even one part of it – keeping Kyle Kuzma over Ingram, now looks like a mistake that still haunts Lakers management. However, Draymond Green has an entirely different notion about it.

Also read: Kevin Durant and James Harden join forces once more but for a Travis Scott show, called $60M rapper “THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD!”

Draymond Green says the Lakers wouldn’t have won the 2020 championship if they kept Brandon Ingram instead of Kyle Kuzma

In Kuzma’s recent appearance on The Draymond Green Show, the Warriors forward told the Wizards forward that the Lakers wouldn’t win in 2020 if they keep BI over him, saying “winning basketball” might have been the management’s vision over having an All-Star calibre player.

Hilarious, isn’t it? They might or might not have lost in 2020, but they surely would have won at least one in the next two years. Bron and AD wouldn’t have maxed themselves out over the years with Kuzma’s contributions of 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. While BI has averaged over 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and even made an All-Star appearance.

But let us believe that Kuzma was better to play the third fiddle to James and Anthony, and it worked out for them in 2020. Nevertheless, they went for a third star and traded away Kuzz and other youngsters to get Russell Westbrook.

Now, imagine if they had an All-Star Ingram instead of Kuzma, would they have needed Westbrook or any other star for that matter? No! And they would still have Alex Caruso and KCP, and maybe even DeMar DeRozan, basically forming one of the best starting lineups in the league.

Also read: How a MasterChef aims to help 6’7” Zion Williamson weigh under 295 lbs and be the next LeBron James

Green must have more basketball knowledge than the rest of us combined. But he is totally wrong on this one. Maybe getting into the media business can do that to even the likes of him.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

Read More