Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel makes it seem like small forward Kyle Kuzma won't be ready for the season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kuzma continues to recover from a stress injury in his lower left leg. He is currently doing non-contact stuff at practice.

Last season for the Lakers, Kuzma averaged 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from beyond the arc and 75.2 percent from the free-throw line.

He could join LeBron James, Danny Green, Anthony Davis and JaVale McGee in LA’s starting lineup for the upcoming season once he's ready to play, although Vogel may elect to bring him off the bench since he's missed so much practice time.

The Lakers really value Kuzma. After all, he was the only youngster from last year’s team to not get traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Davis deal. Kuzma’s pals Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram were sent to New Orleans for Davis.

Playing next to James and Davis, Kuzma figures to get a lot of wide-open looks from the 3-point line. With that said, the Lakers would certainly like to see him become a more efficient 3-point shooter in 2019-20.

First, though, the franchise needs Kuzma to get healthy.