Lakers News: Five reasons starting Kyle Kuzma send the right message
By Keith Rivas
This could be the move that determines how long Luke Walton is in LA
No, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Los Angeles Lakers are parting ways with their young head coach. He is only in his second season at the helm of the purple and gold, and there has been enough progress up to this point to not have him on the hot seat.
However, not giving Kuzma enough minutes and eventually, if not more immediately, a starting position for the long-term could affect how long Luke Walton runs the sidelines. This is important and worth noting because it was a chemistry issue between coach and player that brought out the ugly in the entire D’Angelo Russell situation.
It wasn’t with Luke Walton, though, as former player Byron Scott was in charge at the time.
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This is a case dealing with egos unlike anything we’ve seen in Los Angeles for quite some time. You have three guys who can all play their position well, but you can only start one. Walton has to be able to stand his ground once the decision is made and set in stone and not let emotions run rampant in the locker room.
As talked about in the previous slide, Randle’s frustrations may amplify. But if that happens, the Lakers need to stand by and watch that part of Randle’s character come out. Kuzma has made it a pretty easy decision overall to start him over Randle for right now — and that was really before the injury to Larry Nance Jr.
Lastly, sticking to this move decreases the chances of their being drama in the long run, which is hopefully the amount of time that Walton sees himself as head coach of the Lakers. He’s in a tough spot as it is having to grow Lonzo Ball and coach him into being the best that he can be — Kyle Kuzma is his ticket to making that a much easier process for all involved.