Getty Kyle Kuzma of the USA shoots during a Team USA practice.
Following the disaster that was the injury-riddled 2018-2019 season, Laker fans were rightfully worried to hear that Kyle Kuzma was heading home from USA Basketball to deal with a foot injury. While Kuzma was mostly healthy last season, he dealt with a late-season ankle issue and is expected to play a crucial role for the Lakers – either off the bench or in the starting lineup.
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Kyle Kuzma Injury Update: Lakers Forward Sheds Light on Foot
Kyle Kuzma on his injury: “It’s good that we caught what I have at the right time.” Says it is serious, but not as serious as it could be.
Kuzma himself spoke on his injury and while he gave Laker fans good news, he also gave the fan base quite a scare when mentioning that things could have been much worse if they hadn’t caught it when they did. Listed as a “stress reaction” in his foot, the timetable for Kuzma’s return is still unknown as the forward is expected to have an MRI soon in an attempt to get a better idea of just what exactly is going on and how long until Kuzma will be ready to go.
A number of elite players held themselves out of USA Basketball training camp this offseason, citing either new roles or a fear of potential injury. Despite the injury risk, USA Basketball camp seemed to be doing wonders for Kuzma’s game and gave him an excellent platform to work on the things he has practiced over the offseason. As long as Kuzma’s injury doesn’t take up too much time from the young forward, Laker fans should hopefully be able to breathe easy in 2019-2020.
Kyle Kuzma Role on Lakers’ Team
Coming into the season, we don’t know exactly what role Kyle Kuzma will be stepping into, just that it figures to be an important one. Widely considered one of the five best players on the roster, Kuzma is the unfortunate recipient of the Lakers’ loaded frontcourt. With Anthony Davis and LeBron James slotted in at the two starting forward positions, there isn’t anywhere to play Kuzma without moving him (or Davis) out of position.
Should the Lakers opt to keep Kuzma on the bench, he would likely be expected to play heavy minutes and function as the scoring punch off the bench in the sixth man role. That said, Kuzma would undoubtedly like to find himself in the starting lineup and his chemistry playing alongside LeBron was one of the big reasons the Lakers opted to hang onto him over other young prospects like Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram.
A multi-level scoring threat who makes smart off-ball reads, Kuzma is one of the Lakers most diverse scoring weapons and likely the man who they will turn to if James and Davis are drawing too much attention from opposing defenses. Kuzma put in significant work this summer on both his three-point shot and defensive prowess. Especially if he can translate his Team USA success from deep to the NBA, Kuzma could be the piece that turns the Lakers into a title contender.