Veteran center Chris Kaman can’t seem to catch a break regardless of the solid numbers he puts up when getting considerable time on the floor. Kaman played only 10 minutes in the loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday after a solid effort against the Utah Jazz.
Kaman vented some frustration after the loss saying the following via Bill Oram of the OC Register:
Frustrated Chris Kaman on ankle/9 minutes: “You play pretty decent the game before, it’s like there’s no benefit. Throw it out the window.”
— Bill Oram (@bill_oram) December 30, 2013
With Pau Gasol missing the last two games due to a respiratory infection, Kaman was thought to get a boost in minutes, but head coach Mike D’Antoni continues to mix it up with Jordan Hill and Robert Sacre. Although Hill had an impressive performance against the 76ers with 18 points and 13 rebounds, Kaman played less minutes than any player on the team outside of Xavier Henry (seven mintues) who went down with a knee injury.
It remains to be seen what the Lakers’ front office intends on doing with Kaman. It’s very possible the team could attempt to trade the veteran center at some point between now and the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 20. With the team in dire need for guards due to the numerous injuries in the backcourt, the Lakers could try and go after a player via trade using Kaman as trade bait.
In the meantime, Kaman will take what’s given in terms of minutes and hopefully things will get turned around for both the player and the team moving forward.
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