The Los Angeles Lakers won the basketball lottery this offseason by signing LeBron James. The best player in the game left the Cleveland Cavaliers after four season to sign with the Lakers long-term, knowing they would need to build to become a championship-level team.
The biggest question with LeBron there Los Angeles was who would be the second option? Many believed talented young player Brandon Ingram would be the natural fit for that role. He has progressed every season in his game and his unique size and skill would lead many to believe he can get the job done. However, despite his level of skill, Ingram actually may not be the best wingman to LeBron James.
Ingram is a talented player and he handles the basketball well, but for the Lakers to take that next step, Kyle Kuzma needs to be the second option.
Let's take a look at how each fits next to LeBron James. When LeBron is on the court, he is a ball-dominant player without question. The offense generally runs through him at all times. With James running the show essentially, the second option has to be a guy that can knock down the open shot. Looking at Ingram's game, he has never really been known as a knockdown shooter. He is more of a creator offensively.
When it comes to Kyle Kuzma, however, he is more of a knockdown shooter than Ingram is, shooting 35.6% in his career so far from three-point range. The biggest example of where that shot helps is when LeBron penetrates the lane and when he is in the post. Kuzma always finds a way to make himself available for James and like Kevin Love, he can knockdown that open shot with consistency.
Along with Kuzma being the better shooter, one thing he does exponentially better than Ingram is move off the basketball. Plenty of players have been caught watching LeBron James perform with the basketball over James' career. The results of them watching usually means a stagnant offense though. Ingram is one guy who watches a lot and he unfortunately misses opportunities for buckets.
Kyle Kuzma seemingly understands the game a little better on the offensive end. When LeBron has the ball in the post, you can often see him cutting to the basket and getting easy finishes around the rim. That kind of basketball IQ on the court makes the Lakers not only a better team, but a more efficient team on the court. And the more efficient the Lakers are on the court, the more dangerous they will be as the season goes on.
Kuzma and Ingram can both also handle the basketball and both can put points on the board. The difference between the two is the efficiency with which each scores. Ingram does take a lot of difficult shots and although he hits 45.3% of his shots, it may not be sustainable for him hitting that percentage of his shots over the long haul.
When it comes to Kuzma, he is shooting 47.5% from the field and the reason he shoots a higher percentage is he takes more efficient shots. When he isn't attacking the rim off cuts, he usually is attacking the rim off the dribble when given an opportunity. Along with him being able to get to the spots he wants to on the court, he also shoots less contested shots than Ingram because he understands angles on the court.
Ingram is talented and he may end up being a star on the court, but if the Lakers want to go far this season, Kuzma is your guy as the second option. The efficiency and the overall understanding of the game seems to be higher with him than it does Ingram. And overall, Kuzma is the more complete player at this point in their careers. It will be interesting to see who becomes the second option this season but Kyle Kuzma fits the bill more.
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