Kyle Kuzma Could Be 2017 NBA Draft's Best Player, LeBron James Bargaining Chip

LOS ANGELES — Kyle Kuzma doesn't hold a grudge against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. At least that's what he claimed after pouring 28 points on the Celtics Tuesday in the Los Angeles Lakers' 108-107 victory.

The Lakers stole Kuzma in June's NBA draft with the 27th overall pick. The 22-year-old forward is the second-leading scorer of his class, at 16.7 points a night behind Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, per NBA.com. While Kuzma isn't bitter about where he was selected, he won't ever forget that night.

"I can name everybody that got drafted ahead of me," Kuzma said. "Everybody."

That includes Tatum, the top forward selected in the draft at No. 3 and an important part of the Celtics' 35-14 start. Kuzma took it to Tatum, who missed five of six shots to score just four points, while Kuzma scored 17 in the fourth quarter alone.

But it wasn't personal with Tatum. Kuzma is chasing superstars like All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who he went toe-to-toe with in the victory. All the way back in November, Kuzma set his sights on LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"[He's] playing without a conscience," teammate Julius Randle said of Kuzma's recent play.

Over his last two games, Kuzma has shot a blistering 66.7 percent from the field. He's helped the struggling Lakers win seven of their last nine games and climb to 11th in the Western Conference at 18-29.

"We need his scoring," said coach Luke Walton. "We need his gunslinger mentality, but with that come some bad shots. So, we show him all his shots and we talk about good ones versus bad ones."

Walton has urged Kuzma to raise his effort defensively and to look to assist his teammates more when they are open. Kuzma has responded on both fronts. On Tuesday, Kuzma's highlight play was his no-look, behind-the-back pass to Larry Nance Jr.

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.@kylekuzma does it again! pic.twitter.com/Owk1r68XiW

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 24, 2018"

"I think the past 10 or 12 games, I've done a pretty good job of facilitating too," Kuzma said. "[I'm] getting teammates into makes, not really having games where I have 20 points and zero assists."

Kuzma averaged 1.5 assists a game in November. That number has climbed to 2.0 in December and 2.4 in January. He's still learning how to guard bigger players in the paint, but he's giving a strong effort as a team defender. 

Before the season, Kuzma wasn't projected to be a top performer.

"I've gone back over footage of Kuzma at Utah to see what I missed," Sam Vecenie, draft expert for the Athletic, told Bleacher Report. He noted that Kuzma would have a great performance but then disappear for the next handful of games. The glimpses of potential just weren't consistent enough for Kuzma to stand out in his draft class.

The Lakers were impressed by Kuzma's performance in the draft combine, and he blew them away both in his team workout and interviews with executives Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Rob Pelinka.

Kuzma has been clearly better than lottery forwards like Josh Jackson (No. 4) and Jonathan Issac (No. 6). He's outperformed UCLA's T.J. Leaf (No. 18) and others like John Collins (No. 19), Harry Giles (No. 20), OG Anunoby (No. 23), Tyler Lydon (No. 24) and Caleb Swanigan (No. 26).

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

In a re-draft, Kuzma would certainly come in as a top-five selection. Utah's Mitchell may be the favorite to be Rookie of the Year at this point, while Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons (drafted first overall in 2016) might disagree. Simmons plays point guard at 6'10" for the Sixers and is averaging 16.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.

Simmons has yet to hit a three-pointer in 10 attempts. Kuzma has already made 95 at a team-best (among rotation players) 38.2 percent from behind the arc.

Mitchell, the No. 13 pick, has filled in exceptionally well for Gordon Hayward, who left for Boston as a free agent in July. His 102 made three-pointers have come at a 33.9 percent clip.

Another standout has been Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls (No. 7). He has helped his rebuilding team to almost the same record as the Lakers (18-30). The seven-footer out of Arizona is contributing 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds a night while hitting 36 percent from three-point range (104 in 45 games).

Of course, the Lakers have another impressive rookie in Lonzo Ball. While Ball isn't a high-volume scorer (10.2 points a night), he's given the Lakers 7.1 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game this season. Ball's impact is harder to quantify, but Los Angeles lost its first eight games with the point guard sidelined with knee and shoulder injuries before winning the last three.

Others, like Dennis Smith Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks, De'Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Sacramento Kings and Frank Ntilikina of the New York Knicks, have shown great potential, but Kuzma is a clear standout.

That's a huge win for the Lakers, who have struggled since Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles in 2013.

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

The Celtics are happy with their rookie forward in Tatum. Like Mitchell, he's had to help replace Hayward, who went down on opening night with a gruesome leg injury.

Tatum's 45.0 percent from three-point range is outstanding, although he's hit just 68 and averaged 13.6 points per night. That the Lakers may have landed the better player at No. 27 in Kuzma than the Celtics did at No. 3 is why the franchise is finally starting to ascend in the West after multiple years of futility.

Boston may be closer to an NBA Finals appearance than the Lakers, but Los Angeles has high hopes to add major free agents this summer to accelerate the process. Now the pitch may be something like this, "LeBron James, how would you like to play with Kyle Kuzma and the Lakers?"

Perhaps that's a bit of a reach, but Kuzma's ability to stretch the floor would fit perfectly alongside James. Kuzma's quick release resembles Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson.

But Kuzma isn't just a shooter. He's a gifted scorer with a long list of moves and countermoves that help him attack closeouts and score in the post as well as transition. The Lakers don't have to run plays for Kuzma to get his points. These are all great qualities to have next to a star like James.

The Lakers are still toiling outside of the playoff picture, but Kuzma is a sign the Lakers are looking at a much brighter future.

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Email Eric Pincus at [e-mail] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.