Los Angeles Lakers: Predicting the career outcomes of 2017 draft picks

No. 27 — Kyle Kuzma, PF, Utah

On the surface, there’s a lot to like about Kyle Kuzma as an NBA prospect. He’s athletic, shows solid shooting ability, and is capable of playing on the ball — not exactly a common trait for power forwards. Unfortunately, there’s also plenty to be worried about with the Utah alum.

Kuzma is not a reliable defender at this point in his young basketball career. His effort and effectiveness were inconsistent, and his defensive awareness and IQ are average at best. Even with some work, I don’t foresee him getting much better on that end of the court.

On top of that, his shooting efficiency wavered for much of the 2016-17 season. Although he was the driving force for the Utes’ offense, he struggled at times to put the ball in the basket. He sported a career three-point percentage of only 30.2, but connected on 50.6 percent of his shots from the field. The potential is there, but the consistency is not.

With the Lakers, I see Kuzma struggling to earn minutes behind Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. Although he’s a quality rebounder and capable scorer, the defensive ineffectiveness and unstable shooting will limit his career trajectory.

In the end, I don’t see Kuzma living up to the No. 27 pick. He’s a versatile forward with some offensive skills, but he doesn’t possess enough of the whole package to be anything more than an end-of-the-bench player for Los Angeles. He’ll be off the roster before his rookie contract is up.