NBA: Lakers Forward Not Expecting Role Change Despite New Additions

The Los Angeles Lakers are now considered among the favorites for the 2020 NBA championship following the addition of Anthony Davis to partner LeBron James. Kyle Kuzma, who survived the cull in the summer after seeing three of the young core – Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart – make their way to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of the Davis trade, will now be expected to fill in the role of third star.

The Lakers were keen to add Kawhi Leonard to the mix but he chose the Clippers instead and thus the 24-year-old forward will be hoping to fill the role of third star in the team. Kuzma is currently preparing for the FIBA Basketball World Cup with Team USA and is hoping to be part of the 15-man final roster heading to Shanghai later this month.

Gregg Popovich’s team had their first training session at the UCLA Health Training Center on Tuesday night and it is the same venue where the Lakers hold their sessions during the course of the NBA season. After the practice, the young forward caught up with some reporters and was asked about his role with the Lakers this upcoming season.

Despite the arrival of Davis, Kuzma is not expecting his role to change too much compared to last season. He is aware that he could get more open looks as James and Davis will grab most of the attention from the opposition defense.

“Just being able to hit open shots. Obviously ‘Bron and AD are going to have a lot of attention—a lot of the defense is going to be geared on those guys—so just being able to do what I’ve been doing. Nothing different: Hit shots, being a great cutter and running the floor and being a good teammate,” Kuzma said, as quoted on Silver Screen and Roll.

Kuzma will have to improve his three-point shooting, however, as last season he only managed 30.3 percent from beyond the arc and even more concerning was his 31.9 percent shooting when he was wide open from the three-point range. He will be hoping to realize his full potential in his third season in the NBA and moreover, if he really wants to be considered the third star in a lineup that also consists of DeMarcus Cousins and 2019 NBA champion Danny Green.