The Los Angeles Lakers are planning to use Kyle Kuzma in a multitude of ways during his rookie season.
The Los Angeles Lakers look like they could have a steal on their hands in Kyle Kuzma. The former Utah power forward received mixed reviews during the pre-draft process, but it seems like teams could have misevaluated him.
Kuzma was the 27th overall pick by the Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft. It was a draft pick that Los Angeles acquired from the Brooklyn Nets, along with Brook Lopez, in exchange for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov. At the time of the selection, many people believed it was a reach for the Lakers; those people have been proven wrong thus far.
Kuzma was outstanding in the Las Vegas Summer League. While teammate and fellow rookie, Lonzo Ball, took home MVP honors, Kuzma was named MVP of the championship game.
In the championship game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Kuzma scored a game-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds. As he did all summer, Kuzma showed off impressive range on his jump shot, knocking down 6-of-10 from beyond the three-point line.
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The impressive shooting is something not many people saw coming. Kuzma has the skills to become a stretch-4 in the NBA, but he struggled from distance in college. However, Kuzma showed vast improvement in his shooting, which is something the Lakers noticed during the draft process according to Jesse Buss.
The improved shooting is also why the Lakers had Kuzma higher on their draft board than most. They liked that his mechanics were good, and he showed enough improvement that the Lakers were confident he would put it together. Through the Summer League, Kuzma proved them right.
With Kuzma showing he is capable of knocking down perimeter jump shots, head coach Luke Walton has more flexibility in his lineup construction. Kuzma played a majority of his minutes at power forward in college, but the Lakers envision him being more versatile in the NBA.
Buss, the Lakers assistant general manager and head of scouting, discussed what the Lakers have in plan for Kuzma, position wise, with Mike Trudell of NBA.com.
"We’ve had our eye on him because he’s multi-positional at the four and the three at that size (6’9’’). He has an ability to pass, shoot the ball, run the floor … good athlete, good understanding of the game. He was always intriguing to us. He just started to shoot the three this past year at Utah, and he didn’t shoot it that well at the beginning of the season. But as the season went on and in conference play he started to get more confidence with (the three).I’d say that he can guard multiple positions at the three and the four. He does need to get stronger. But overall I think he can be a plus defender. Offense takes care of itself (position wise)."
Buss is correct in his assessment. Kuzma has the size to play power forward and the athleticism to keep up with players on the perimeter. He is a perfect fit for the current landscape of the NBA given his athleticism and ability to shoot the ball.
Kuzma is unlikely to shoot 48 percent from the three-point line in the regular season as he did in Las Vegas. However, he looks like he will be more than capable of shooting from the perimeter, which was one of the things holding him back in the pre-draft process.
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Knocking down three-pointers will not only help Kuzma get on the court but help his position versatility too. If he is capable of knocking down perimeter shots, Walton can use him at small forward alongside less capable shooters such as Larry Nance Jr. or Julius Randle.