With the 27th pick — aka the pick the team got as part of the D’Angelo Russell trade — the Lakers selected University of Utah PF Kyle Kuzma.
I’d be lying if said I knew much about Kuzma, but he’s got good physical tools — measuring at 6’9″ with a 7′ wingspan. At a little over 220 pounds, he’s not the bulkiest player, but he’s labeled as a smooth athlete who has a rangy offensive game with some real defensive ability.
Kuzma has some “stretch” potential at PF, but will need to improve on his 32.1% from distance he posted last season in college. Where he can excel, however, is as a ball mover the half court and as a finisher in transition leveraging his quickness and athleticism to change ends quickly. Per scouting reports, he’s a good passer and a plus rebounder averaging 2.4 assists and 9 rebounds a game last season.
In saying all that, the Lakers used this pick on a position where they currently have a lot of depth. Julius Randle is the current starter at PF with Larry Nance as his backup. Behind them, the Lakers also have Luol Deng who is best suited as a small-ball PF at this stage and you’d imagine Brandon Ingram will also still see some minutes at the PF spot over the course of the year.
So, in many ways, Kuzma’s selection feels like a hedge should the team end up making a trade of one of the PF’s. It’s hard to see any real scenario where the team goes into the season with all of these players on the roster considering the minute crunch that would exist. Either one of the aforementioned guys/Kuzma is not long for this roster or one of them (either Kuzma or Deng) isn’t likely to see many (if any) minutes at PF.
If that doesn’t happen, even if Kuzma was the best player on the Lakers’ board, I would imagine there could have been a similarly rated player in the backcourt or on the wing who could have been taken in this spot. That’s nothing against Kuzma, but more about team needs. In other words, we may still be waiting for moves to happen and, if I’m being honest, I don’t expect it to involve Kuzma at this point.
WWL says
I think KK is going to be used as a stretchy-4 and part-time 3. Mike Bresnahan reported he had a strong workout w/ LA.
Mid-Wilshire says
Darius,
I’ve seen Kuzma play. I was quite impressed. He’s much more of an offensive threat than Larry Nance, Jr. and probably a better rebounder. Larry has the edge on defense, though. Those two may fight it out for the backup PF position (if they both make it to training camp and neither one is traded in the meantime).
One thing for certain–they’re very different players with very different strengths.
FredP says
From the #27 and #30 picks it is easy to see that the new management values ability to finish at the rim, shoot 3’s, pass, and play man to man defense. The Summer League team is going to be a lot of fun to watch. I think this pick is made because they want this type of player in the rotation and are not seeing it in Randle and Nance.
CraigW. says
Also, I suspect management thinks Julius or Nance will have to be included in a trade over the next year. Kuzma is a bit of each of them, with better 3pt shooting, and can easily be integrated into Walton’s system.
Ed says
Strange, I heard Kuzma`s name mentioned on ESPN radio before the draft,with the comment that the speaker had never seen a player work harder or longer hrs than Kuzma. The new FO seems to value a good work ethic and a chart of improvement year to year.
Vasheed says
This looks like a project player. So maybe it doesn’t matter that they are deep already at PF. He needs some polish in the G-League. Kuzma has potential, I’m just not sure this was the best use of the 27th pick. I would rather have gotten another guy like Hart who was ready to go. I was also hoping for an athletic guy to play Center.