While all the attention was naturally on the Los Angeles Lakers selecting Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 pick, they may have gotten the steal of the draft when they selected Kyle Kuzma with the No. 27 pick. At the Las Vegas Summer League, Kuzma was a pleasant surprise after averaging 21.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.
As Kuzma looks to carry over his Summer League performance to the 2017-18 NBA season, Lonzo Ball shares his teammate was not ‘that good' in college according to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints:
When asked about teammate Kyle Kuzma yesterday, Lonzo Ball talked about how different things are now compared to last year in college
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) September 29, 2017
Lonzo on Kuzma: “In college he wasn’t that good, tbh. I don’t even remember him when we played them [Utah]. Now, I’m happy he’s on my team.”
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) September 29, 2017
It was a surprisingly honest response from Ball, who is usually short with his answers with the media. However, with the chemistry Ball and Kuzma have already established during the offseason, it was likely a friendly shot at his teammate.
As Ball is expected to play major minutes, it will be interesting to see if Kuzma is part of head coach Luke Walton's rotation.
While the Lakers have plenty of depth at the center and power forward positions, there may be an opportunity for Kuzma to become Brandon Ingram's backup. In addition, he is a potential stretch-four if he is able to get anywhere near his 48.0 percent shooting from three-point range during Summer League.
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