The financials of Kyle Kuzma’s deal
Kyle Kuzma getting paid a hair over $13 million per season is not something that will entirely set an organization back, but it isn’t an ideal situation.
Kuzma is nowhere near as awful as the contracts of Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng, so there is no need to discuss that. However, Kuzma sets the Lakers back in a different way — future financial flexibility.
The actual contract figure of Kuzma’s deal isn’t the issue — the length is. The fact that the Lakers locked up Kuzma for three seasons while also giving him a player option isn’t the greatest especially given the skill level as I mentioned.
The Lakers are already set to pay LeBron James and Anthony Davis a ton of money combined and adding Kuzma’s contract into the fold restricts the Lakers from really doing anything of note later down the line.
The contract largely benefits the player in this case, as Kuzma will have all the flexibility in the world. He will enter free agency at age 28, which could wind up looking like his prime seasons.
The Lakers had until Monday night to finalize a deal with Kuzma and it appears that they may have rushed it and handed him too much money. There was talk about trading Kuzma and now he signs an extension? Interesting situation.
If the front office truly believes Kyle Kuzma can still step in as the third star of the Los Angeles Lakers, they are in for a rude awakening. The only benefit to this deal and contract figure is that the Lakers can easily trade it down the line.
It is the perfect deal to use in a deal for a max player of some sort. Look for that to come up in the coming years. Talen Horton-Tucker might be coming for his minutes!