No matter what happens with the rest of the season, the development of Kyle Kuzma will remain an important part of the growth of the Los Angeles Lakers in future seasons. While they can certainly count on the play of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, their growth potential likely depends on Kuzma, or what they can perhaps get for him in a trade somewhere down the line. But if he signs an extension with the Lakers, which he is eligible for whenever the offseason begins, that would be a long way off.
So for all the talk about potential deals involving him, Kuzma will be a part of the Lakers for the immediate future and most Lakers fans were concerned with how his season turned out. Kuzma saw a reduced role in minutes, shots and points, while also shooting a career-worst 29 percent from the 3-point line in 54 games. The biggest reason why he did see a reduced role was that the Lakers acquired Davis, who prefers to play the power forward position that Kuzma occupied for his first two seasons in L.A. But rather than being more efficient in less time, Kuzma went the opposite direction, seeing his efficiency slip as his minutes did.
But even if the season is unable to find a conclusion that crowns a champion, Kuzma believes playing behind Davis and LeBron James, even if it reduced his role this season, will ultimately be good for his career during an appearance on Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s First Take.
“For me, it’s all about trying to add the win to championship basketball, something different than I’ve really had in my young career. Over the first two years, it was just that development: get in, just try to get your feet in. Then, you jump into a situation where the only thing that matters is winning, so you just try to build championship habits. This year, I got a taste of that and kind of developed that mentality. Obviously, playing behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James — for me, as a young player — it could have been a little different.
“Young players, they want to continue to put their name in, develop and have these high accolades, but, for me, I got a chance to have a backseat to the best two players in the NBA and really learn from them, and see what they do on a daily basis, how they approach the game. For me, I think this whole experience this past season has really boded well for my career.”
(Hat-Tip Christian Rivas from Silver Screen and Roll)
More than anything, Kuzma is showing that he has a positive outlook about the season and given the way the Lakers were playing prior to the hiatus, he absolutely should. Although Kuzma wasn’t a star in either of the wins on the Bucks-Clippers weekend, he found ways to contribute even if his shot didn’t fall by playing with energy and providing role player necessities in big spots.
While Lakers fans and Kuzma himself likely envisioned that he would be a third star, Kuzma still provided the third-highest scoring average on the team (12.5 ppg) and gave them shot-creation the team lacked in the minutes LeBron and AD were not on the court. His efficiency needs work and the declining percentage of his 3-point percentage, as well as his effective field goal percentage since the start of his rookie season, is a definite concern. But if he can become a consistent role player on the Lakers and help them accomplish the goals they have for themselves alongside LeBron and AD, whenever basketball does return, the next steps in Kuzma’s vision for himself and the vision the Lakers have had for him will be a lot more believable. Kuzma is right that finding his best self in that role can very much help his career.
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