#3: Continued growth from the younger players
Another thing that will be making an appearance on the Lakers Christmas wish list this season is continued growth from the youth on the team. In the preseason we saw Talen Horton Tucker take the league by storm with his incredible performances.
It is likely that he will never have the ball in his hands as much or get quite the opportunity he did in the preseason, however, he showed that he is more than capable of coming off of the bench and being an impactful all-around player.
It will be very exciting to see what Horton Tucker can do when he is given a bigger role in the regular season. With him only being 20 years old, he still is nowhere near the age when NBA players typically reach their primes.
Another player that falls under the category of this wish is Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma had a lot of hype coming into the 2019-2020 season. He was intended to be the third star on a Lakers roster that featured LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
It could be argued that Kuzma is the closest thing that the Lakers have to a third option, however, he greatly fell short of expectations last season. With the Lakers agreeing to a three year 40 million dollar extension of his rookie contract, it is clear that he is a part of the Lakers long term plans.
With that being said, it is essential that he continues to improve and become a more consistent scorer, better defender, and a better off-ball player.