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Halfway through the 2022-23 season, the Los Angeles Lakers looked dead in the water. They were on the outside looking in on the Western Conference playoff picture and seemed destined to miss out on the postseason for the second year in a row.
But the Lakers rectified their season after making some savvy trades before the 2023 NBA trade deadline. They finished the regular season on a roll, and their terrific play carried over into the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Lakers eliminated Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in six games in the first round. Then, in round two, the Lakers took down Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, also in six games.
Sure, the Lakers' magical postseason run didn't end the way they wanted it to: with a title. Nikola Jokic and the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets steamrolled the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, sweeping them in four games.
Regardless of the way the Lakers' postseason ended, though, Los Angeles' run was incredibly impressive for a team that seemed dead in the water a few months ago. And their successful playoff run showed that they're only one star-level player away from being a legitimate title contender. Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma — who spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Lakers — is certainly a star and will be a free agent this summer. With all of that said, here are two reasons why the Lakers should pursue a Kyle Kuzma reunion in 2023 NBA free agency:
2 reasons Lakers must pursue Kyle Kuzma reunion in 2023 NBA free agency
1. Playmaking
The Los Angeles Lakers were a middle-of-the-pack playmaking team during the regular season. Their 25.3 assists per game average ranked 15th in the NBA. And part of the reason for this was the team's lack of facilitators at the forward positions besides LeBron James. Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt — while both extremely valuable to the Lakers' success — provided little in terms of playmaking this season.
Kyle Kuzma's skillset could fill the Lakers' playmaking hole in their frontcourt. He's not some Jokic-like playmaker who teams run their offense around, but he's a terrific ball mover and one of the very best facilitators at his position in the league.
Kuzma dished out an average of 3.7 dimes per game with the Wizards in the 2022-23 campaign, the 11th-highest assist average among all qualified small forwards. Some of the names who averaged more assists include LeBron James, Brandon Ingram, Jimmy Butler, and Jayson Tatum — that's some great company.
2. Scoring versatility
Kuzma functioned as one of the top scoring options on the Wizards during the 2022-23 season, and he made the most of his opportunity. He scored a career-high 21.2 points per game, but what was just as impressive as that number was his scoring versatility.
Kuzma was as comfortable as he's ever been shooting the ball from behind the three-point arc. He attempted a career-most 7.5 three-pointers per contest. Secondly, Kuzma scored from inside the three-point arc very efficiently, as he converted 53.3% of his two-point field-goal attempts.
At this juncture, only time will tell if Kyle Kuzma will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023 NBA free agency. After all, he'll likely have several teams interested in him. But what's already abundantly clear is that the Lakers would benefit from bringing Kuzma back to Los Angeles.
