The Los Angeles Lakers have encountered yet another bump in the road as they prepare for a 2019-20 NBA season that carries championship expectations. The team announced that forward Kyle Kuzma will be out until at least mid-October with a foot injury:

Kuzma will undergo an MRI when the team returns from a stint of exhibition games in China:

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Kuzma will miss any time to begin the regular season. However, this is still a frustrating development for a Laker team that is trying to establish chemistry after a summer in which the team experienced a total roster makeover.

Kuzma had left Team USA camp prior to the start of the 2019 FIBA World Cup due to “ankle soreness,” but the latest reports have alleviated any skepticism that he was using the designation as an excuse to skip out on playing with the Senior Team.

The Lakers have already had to respond to one significant injury, with DeMarcus Cousins tearing his ACL back in August. Los Angeles would eventually sign Dwight Howard, who will make a return trip to Hollywood after a tumultuous 2012-13 season with the Purple and Gold.

Kuzma was the only young star that the Lakers retained in the Anthony Davis trade after he ranked second on the team in scoring and developed a rapport with LeBron James. Los Angeles lacks playmakers on the wing outside of Kuzma and James, and they need Kuzma to continue to develop as a perimeter shooter after being one of the worst teams in the league from beyond the arc last season.

But first, Kuzma has to get healthy.