As the only part of the Lakers’ young core who did not go to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis deal and a part of the Lakers’ 2020 championship team, Kyle Kuzma likely holds an interesting place in Lakers’ fans hearts. It seems he and the Lakers are also at odds about his exact place in their future, too.
A new report from Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register indicates extension talks, which faced a league-wide deadline of Monday, have stalled:
The status of those discussions? Tabled for now. Kuzma met with Vogel and General Manager Rob Pelinka at the beginning of the month to feel out his role for the season, a person with knowledge of the situation told SCNG, and to get a sense for his future with the organization. Kuzma came away from the meeting with a sense that he would have to scrap for on-court opportunities.
The gifted young wing has never really put together a strong season in which he contributed at a high level to winning basketball, although in fairness, last year was his first time on a squad that made the playoffs and there was a major adjustment period for him — Kuzma shot just 43.6 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three, while his Box Plus-Minus, which is just one way to measure a player’s all-around impact, was a career-worst minus-2.6.
With an expensive roster dominated by two veteran superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it makes sense that the Lakers would be cautious before loading up with another big contract. Yet they don’t have a great way to replace Kuzma, who despite his shortcomings is still probably the highest-upside player on the roster besides preseason breakout phenomenon Talen Horton-Tucker.
All this means there’s probably still a solid chance Kuzma stays with the Lakers long-term, but any new contract may have to come in free agency next summer rather than an extension.