No question, development has not been a strength of the Los Angeles Lakers as an organization in recent years. Austin Reaves is the outlier–and quite an outlier at that–but for the most part, young players’ careers mostly wither on the vine in LA. Some of that is just bad judgment. But players like Talen Horton-Tucker, Jalen Hood-Schifino and most recently, Dalton Knecht, have just not come on as young players whom the Lakers helped to get better. But there is an effort on to change that, and Arthur Kaluma might be an ideal case study.
Kaluma was an undrafted rookie out of Texas in 2025 the team signed this offseason. He made some news this week as he earned a two-way spot on the roster after having excelled during the team’s summer league showing.
He led the Lakers in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game, in just 23.0 minutes. He shot extremely well, making 60.0% of his shots and 50.0% of his 3-pointers.
Lakers Must Focus on Development
Kaluma is an athletic, 6-foot-7 forward who bounced from Creighton to Kansas State and finally to Texas during his collegiate career, and improved at each stop. He averaged 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Longhorns, and added 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals. He is the kind of versatile big wing the Lakers have been looking for.
He, as well as Adou Theiro, have the potential to get actual rotation minutes this season. Indeed, there has been more of a focus on bringing along young players as the Lakers have transitioned into new ownership. Despite the abrupt and messy departure of owner Mark Walter last month, the Lakers remain committed to increasing their development resources.
Arthur Kaluma Would Fit Lakers Needs
That could mean seeing Kaluma in a Lakers jersey, maybe sooner rather than later. The Lakers have not benefitted from the kind of low-cost development prizes in recent years that help round out a roster and provide valuable payroll savings–teams like the Warriors, Heat and Celtics have been especially adept in that realm. Not LA, though.
The hope is that he can be a find as a 3-and-D wing. The talent is there. In 35 G League games last year, Kaluma averaged 14.6 points and shot 54.5%, 36.4% from the 3-point line.
Arthur Kaluma ‘Has All the Tools’
During Kaluma’s summer surge, one NBA scout said Kaluma only needs some good development, and the hope is that comes from the Lakers:
“We liked him coming out of college, he had some good workouts but it was obvious he was going to be a development guy and at his age (he was 23 when he came out for the draft, and is 24 now) you can’t really invest a spot on the roster for that. He has all the tools to be a good defender, you know, he has the wingspan (7-foot) and the athleticism, but he just never put it together. And his shot was not there.
“But you can see he has improved. Has he improved enough to be an NBA player? Probably not yet but that is where you have to look at your development people and see where they’re at with him. He could be kind of a fascinating case.”
Lakers ‘Fascinating’ Rookie Will Test New-Look Organization