So I wanted to look at how Kuzma’s stat profile changed when he was on the floor with both Beal & Porzingis (making him a 3rd option) vs. when he was a 1st or 2nd options. These are the per36 stats I found:
1st or 2nd Option (1,449 MIN)
USG% = 0.293
TS% = 0.541
FG% = 0.449
2P% = 0.529
3P% = 0.328
FT% = 0.723
FGA = 19.8
2PA = 11.9
3PA = 7.9
FTA = 4.3
PTS = 23.4
REB = 7.2
OREB = 0.7
DREB = 6.5
AST = 4.0
TO = 3.4
AST:TO = 1.2
STL = 0.6
BLK = 0.4
3rd Option (711 MIN)
USG% = 0.229
TS% = 0.575
FG% = 0.467
2P% = 0.562
3P% = 0.357
FT% = 0.763
FGA = 15.3
2PA = 8.2
3PA = 7.1
FTA = 3.0
PTS = 19.1
REB = 7.8
OREB = 1.2
DREB = 6.6
AST = 3.4
TO = 2.3
AST:TO = 1.5
STL = 0.5
BLK = 0.6
Looking at some On/Off numbers as well, the Wizards had a net rating of +3.6 when Beal, Porzingis, & Kuzma were on the floor (119.4 ORTG and 115.8 DRTG) which would be 5th compared to other team net ratings. We had the best ORTG this year at 118.6 but a 115.8 DRTG would have ranked 22nd. Defense is larger than Kuzma obviously but it's promising to see a very high ORTG with Kuzma as the 3rd option. It suggests that his efficiency concerns may not be dragging an offense down when he's in a secondary role.
What's also interesting is the Wizards net rating when Kuzma is either a 1st or 2nd option. The net rating drops to -3.1 (113.3 ORTG and 116.4 DRTG). Makes sense that we see a huge drop in ORTG here considering we all recognize that he's not a #1/#2 option. Also, it's important to note that only 32.8% of his minutes this year came with both Beal and Porzingis on the floor so he was very often forced to be in that #1/#2 role for a large majority of his playing time. Maybe with guys like Monk, Huerter, & Murray, the Kings can afford to keep Kuzma more in a 3rd/4th role keeping those efficiencies higher.
Having said all of this, I still don't like the signing but thought I'd share these splits as I thought it was another data point for us to consider.
