Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons to be excited for 2019-20 NBA season

5. Kyle Kuzma has potential as a super sub

Kyle Kuzma was a draft day afterthought, a small-school player part of the same Lakers’ draft class as second overall pick Lonzo Ball and former NCAA champion Josh Hart. It wasn’t long before he made his mark, exploding during NBA Summer League and turning in a strong rookie campaign.

His second season was not the smooth progression many assumed. While he increased his usage and scoring inside, he also shot very poorly from outside the paint, including just 30.3 percent on 3-pointers.

He was part of the Lakers’ entire young core having a poor season amidst tumultuous organizational happenings.

This season there is plenty of room for optimism. The organization clearly values him highly, protecting him during the Anthony Davis trade talks.

While an injury made him the final cut for Team USA in the 2019 FIBA World Cup he looked on track to make the roster, spending the formative training camp with some of the best young players in the nation.

With Anthony Davis stretching defenses vertically and players such as Danny Green and Quinn Cook stretching defenses horizontally, Kuzma will enjoy significantly better spacing and worse defensive attention this season.

He should be able to come in off the bench and run second units when LeBron James is sitting.

There is no question the Lakers will be a better team this season, and Kuzma looks set up for success.

If he can parlay personal growth and positive shooting regression with a better situation he could be a candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award, pouring in points off the bench and helping to elevate a contending team.