During his four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Kuzma was one of the more popular players on the team.
Despite being a late first-round pick, he proved one of the best players in his draft class as a rookie during the 2017-18 season. Over the last two or three seasons, he has shown improvement, especially when it comes to his rebounding, passing and defense.
Lakers fans have been pining for Kuzma to return ever since he was sent packing to the Washington Wizards in 2021’s Russell Westbrook trade. The forward is expected to become a free agent, and NBA analyst Jake Weinbach reported that there’s a looming possibility he will return to Los Angeles (h/t Lakers Daily).
Kyle Kuzma is expected to decline his $13.0M player option with the Wizards and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Potential suitors for Kuzma could include the Pacers, Rockets, Spurs, Kings, and Jazz. A reunion with the Lakers is also a looming possibility.
— Jake Weinbach (@JWeinbachNBA) June 18, 2023
This season, Kuzma averaged a career-high 21.2 points a game. However, he’s not the man to solve the Lakers’ 3-point shooting woes. He shot just 33.3% from downtown and has never shot as high as 37% from that distance for an entire season.