Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma alleges that if he were still a member of the team, the Lakers would still be title contenders.
“For sure, 100 percent — I think — it was tough because I think they kind of gave up on me,” Kuzma said when asked if the Lakers would still be contending if he weren’t traded. “And they gave up on that team, too, a little too early — probably panicked a little bit. But in the NBA, things happen fast. You never know what’s gonna happen next, and it’s always a revolving door. So, we had a tough — a tough little stretch, but it happens.”
Kuzma played for the Lakers for the first four seasons of his NBA career after Los Angeles traded for him. The 29-year-old was selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
In his first two seasons in Los Angeles, the Lakers didn’t have Anthony Davis on the roster, and Kuzma made the most of his frequent touches. Across 147 total regular-season games, he averaged 17.3 points on 45.3 percent shooting from the floor and 33.5 percent from 3-point range to go along with 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest.
However, when Davis was dealt to the Lakers ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Kuzma saw his role with the team shrink a bit compared to his rookie and sophomore seasons. He saw his scoring averaged drop to just 12.8 points per game in 129 total games played in his third and fourth seasons.
Kuzma may not have had a huge offensive role on the Lakers in his final two seasons in Los Angeles, but he was still one of the team’s better players and was fortunate enough to win a title before his tenure came to an end.
The forward appeared in all 21 of the Lakers’ games during their title run in 2020 and averaged 10.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
Kuzma hasn’t played for the Lakers since the end of the 2020-21 campaign, and he currently plays for the Washington Wizards. He was one of Washington’s top scoring options in the 2023-24 regular season, as he averaged a career-high 22.2 points per contest.
Seeing as how Kuzma has evolved and improved as a player since his days with the Lakers, his presence seemingly wouldn’t hurt Los Angeles’ chances of competing for an NBA title, at the very least. But it’s worth noting that he is under contract with the Wizards through the 2026-27 season.
