Los Angeles Lakers: Minus Kyle Kuzma, what now for the LA?

With Kyle Kuzma expected to miss some time due to an injury, we explore if expectations should change for the Los Angeles Lakers

Heading into the 2019-20 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers come absolutely loaded with talent – with both big names and key rotational players around their star talent.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are perennial all-stars and have the shooting personnel around them to truly go far into post-season contention in the 2019-20 season. However, there is another name growing and gaining traction as a future all-star considerate in Kyle Kuzma, who is currently suffering from a stress reaction in his foot that he suffered while training with Team USA in the offseason.

It was recently announced that the injury will keep Kuzma out “indefinitely,” a choice of words that is unpleasant to hear as a sports fan – often carrying the connotation that the issue is serious and could persist for some time, a loss for the athlete and the viewers who appreciate him.

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So what exactly is a “stress reaction?” The bones in the feet of larger, taller athletes carry an obscene daily workload, being pushed to there limit just as the athlete tries to push himself to the limit – too much stress causes swelling that could lead to micro-fractures, becoming a potentially chronic issue to manage during the future of Kuzma’s career.

The impact this will have on Kyle Kuzma personally is obvious and unfortunate for himself, but equally so the Lakers organization – it is hard to come by a rookie scale contract in this league attached to a player that has the potential to become a regular attendee of All-Star Weekend, and a top-three team contributor in the regular season and postseason play.

The cache was traded away to secure Anthony Davis, and in Kuzma, they have a young talent that is well on his way to becoming a seriously key contributor. Averaging 32 minutes of his play in his first two seasons, he was able to chip in 17 points per game on 33 percent shooting for his career overall.

While he did take a slight dip in shooting percentage in his second season, he stayed consistent as a perimeter defender and improved his production as a playmaker for his squad. It is unfortunate to see him go down as early as the preseason, and his injury raises many hypothetical questions on how well the Lakers could preform with him back in the mix.

Los Angeles has the current reigning King of professional basketball, and a versatile big man capable of putting the ball on the floor, posting and pulling up for three – add back in the length of Kuzma, his tenacious play, and his ability to get to the rim or spotting up off the pass, and the City of Angel’s purple and gold squad has a serious third option, creating a formidable big three.

While there are currently no assurances that Kuzma will be back this season, or any estimation of what that timeline may be – rest assured, if Kyle Kuzma suits back up for L.A. this upcoming season they are going to be serious contenders to go all the way in a Western Conference that has faded somewhat from its recent years of dominant glory.

For the sake of an exciting season, let’s put our best wishes for the star swingman to recover soon, and get back to his brilliant play out on the hardwood.