Is it better to be a star player on a bad team or a role player on a championship team? This is the predicament that Los Angeles Lakers power forward Kyle Kuzma is facing right now.
In a recent interview with reporters recently, Laker head coach Frank Vogel discussed Kuzma's difficult position and how it has helped him grow as an all around player.
“Obviously he can get a lot better — he’s a young player, but he brings a lot to the table right now,” the Lakers' coach said of Kuzma, per Silver Screen and Roll.
“And he’s in a difficult predicament, because a lot of his counterparts at his age that are on teams without established superstars are getting bigger roles, and he certainly is capable of that, but his role is going to be different on this team. And he’s had great acceptance of trying to find ways to contribute to winning basketball and has had a great attitude about it. It’s actually helped him to round out his game so to speak, rather than just focusing on scoring. The defense, the rebounding, the hustle plays that maybe you’re not focused on as much if you’re the young focal point of an offense. So I think in the long run this is really going to help his career.”
It sounds like Kuzma is having a good attitude about his role with the Lakers and is using the fact that the spotlight isn't on him to improve his all-around game. However, where it will lead him is anyone's guess.
Kyle Kuzma has one more year left on his rookie contract, and he will be looking to get paid after the 2020-21 campaign. Whether that is with the Lakers or somewhere else remains to be seen, but Kuzma knows very well he needs to show what he can do in order to have full control of his destiny.
Before the 2019-20 campaign was suspended, Kuzma was averaging career-lows across all boards with 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists. However, it was largely because of his decreased role with the team after the arrival of Anthony Davis. Kuz only started in seven games for the Lakers prior to the hiatus, as compared to his combined 105 starts in his first two seasons.
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