Lakers News: Kyle Kuzma to Represent LA at 2019 NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago

The Los Angeles Lakers will be represented by forward Kyle Kuzma at next Tuesday's NBA draft lottery.

Mike Trudell of the Lakers' official website reported the news. 

The Lakers will have the 11th-best odds (2.0 percent) at winning the lottery. They'll have a 9.4 percent chance of moving into the top four. Pick Nos. 5-14 are determined by team record.

If you want to read into this, you could say this is a vote of confidence that Kuzma will be with the Lakers next season. Logic would dictate that a team wouldn't send a player it plans on jettisoning to represent it at the lottery.

Of course, the Lakers have not exactly been known for logical decision-making for the last half-decade. Kuzma could easily represent the Lakers at the draft lottery and be part of trade discussions the next day if the lottery balls bounce a certain way. Neither his placement here nor his relationship with LeBron James would stop the Lakers from shipping him off for Anthony Davis.

Nor should it.

Kuzma will just be one of the 14 anonymous cogs sitting at a podium. His responsibility will top out at answering one or two softball questions, staring awkwardly into the camera and perhaps flashing a wry smile the second the pick is announced.

At least Kuz has the awkward staring part down already.