The Los Angeles Lakers have to feel good about where they stand heading into the 2020-21 season. They reloaded their roster with several impact players, re-signed Anthony Davis, extended LeBron James and are already pegged as the favorites to come away with the 2021 NBA championship.
Aside from adding talented players like Dennis Schroder, Wesley Matthews, Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol, Los Angeles also re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Markieff Morris. Head coach Frank Vogel will have tough decisions to make regarding lineups and minutes, but it is a good problem to have.
Lost in the shuffle of the new additions is Kyle Kuzma, who also flashed how he can contribute on a championship-caliber team. Kuzma stepped up on the defensive end and showed he could hit shots when given the opportunity to do so.
Kuzma is extension-eligible this offseason and provided a slight update on where he and the Lakers stand on the matter. “We’ve talked,” Kuzma said. “It’s obviously just talks between my agent and the organization. They’re working through things, so we’ll see.”
Lakers Vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka recently came out and said the team is open to an extension when the time is right. There is a bit of a deadline as Kuzma and the Lakers won’t be able to sign an extension after Dec. 21.
Should that date pass, they will need to wait until the offseason, when Kuzma would become a restricted free agent.
It is anyone’s guess as to what Kuzma would be worth in free agency, but Los Angeles should strongly consider re-signing the forward as they do not have many younger prospects on the roster.
Also, signing Kuzma to another contract would give the front office another trade chip in the event another impact player can be had.
Kuzma happy for LeBron, Davis getting extensions
While Kuzma is waiting to see how his future with the Lakers unfolds, the team announced they agreed to deals with James and Davis.
Having James and Davis under contract for the foreseeable future guarantees the purple and gold will be contending for years to come, and Kuzma expressed how happy he was for his teammates. “It’s a very good sign for those guys,” he said.
“So deserving. Obviously bringing home championship No. 17, those guys deserve it. They’re helluva players obviously. I’m very happy for those guys.”
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