Los Angeles Lakers power forward Kyle Kuzma’s first two seasons in the NBA have delivered solid contributions on the court, with the expectation that more improvements will come in the years ahead.
One new report indicates that Kuzma has been spending time during the offseason working on his jump shot, which has reportedly shown improvement.
Kuz on his shot development this offseason, which Brook Lopez said has been looking good: “I just tried to focus on getting a higher release point and really (focusing on) my release.” Nothing major, he said, just increasing his focus.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) August 14, 2019
Kuzma has averaged 17.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists since being traded to the Lakers on the night of the 2017 NBA Draft. That transaction, which came after he was selected 27th overall by the Brooklyn Nets, also brought Brook Lopez to Los Angeles while sending away D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets.
Looking to boost that scoring number, Kuzma is intent on improving on his 45.3 percent career shooting average from the field. That focus is also geared toward his shooting from beyond the arc, having connected in his two seasons at a rate of just 33.5 percent.
That number for 3-pointers also took a dip during the 2018-19 season, when he missed 294 of his 422 attempts from long-range to end with a 30.3 percent success rate.
The playing time of Kuzma for the 2019-20 season may very well be a challenge for the new head coach. That’s because last year’s biggest addition, LeBron James, is joined this year by two major frontcourt players in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Kuzma is playing the next two seasons for the Lakers that will pay him $1.97 million for the upcoming campaign and a team option of $3.56 million for 2020-21. While the Lakers will likely then make a qualifying offer of $5.28 million two years from now, Kuzma’s early statistical numbers point to him rejecting that amount and working out a better deal.
