After a very eventful offseason in which the Los Angeles Lakers got deeper and younger, there is still one order of business that remains unfinished, which is a contract extension or fourth year forward Kyle Kuzma. It sounds like Kuzma, who has performed well in the preseason and received a lot of hype from Anthony Davis and LeBron James for it, probably won’t sign an extension between now and the start of the regular season on Tuesday.
According to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group, discussions on a contract extension for Kuzma have been “tabled for now,” meaning that they have not reached any agreement. It remains to be seen whether those discussions will resume again anytime soon with the regular season and a title defense on the horizon.
The deadline for rookie extensions for former first-round picks, such as Kuzma, is on Dec. 22 when the regular season begins. So while Kuzma has earned rave reviews, it appears as though the Lakers will allow Kuzma to hit restricted free agency, provided they give him a qualifying offer for 2021-22 worth $5.28 million.
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