One of the steals for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA was forward Kyle Kuzma. Where did they have him in their rankings?
Just prior to the start of the 2017 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to add an additional first round pick. Prior to the trading of D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers had two picks in the first round.
In a deep draft, having two first round picks appeared to be good for the Lakers. However, they wanted to add more young talent to their core and received an additional first round pick from the Brooklyn Nets.
On draft night, the Lakers ended up trading their 28th overall pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for the 30th overall pick and a second round pick. In total, the Lakers had four picks in the draft and three of them in the first round.
With their first pick, the Lakers were able to get Lonzo Ball from UCLA. This pick didn’t surprise too many, as Ball was considered to be the second-best prospect in the draft behind Markelle Fultz.
The 27th pick, however, did shock some people. After a good workout with the team, the Lakers used their second first round pick on Kyle Kuzma from Utah. While some people thought that the Lakers might have reached, they actually had Kuzma much higher on their draft board.
In a recent interview with Mike Trudell of NBA.com, Jesse Buss went over where they had Kuzma actually ranked.
"“Yes, a significant number. Several spots. He was our highest ranked college prospect we’ve gotten outside the lottery (in the past several years). This being the deep draft that it was, you just felt like getting a top-20 pick – at least in our rankings – was going to be a rotational player no matter what. He gives us a different look in terms of what we have at that position.”"
So far, it looks like the Lakers were absolutely right with Kuzma. In the Las Vegas Summer League, Kuzma was the second best player on the team behind Ball, and he really shined.
In the Championship Game of the Summer League, Kuzma was named Finals MVP after a great performance. Even without Ball, Kuzma was able to help lead the Lakers to a win.
Next: Ranking the 10 greatest draft picks of all-time
Now, Kuzma will be preparing for what is shaping up like an interesting training camp for the Lakers. With a lot of depth at the forward position, Kuzma is going to have his work cut out for him to earn rotation minutes to start the season.