Lakers News: Latest on Kyle Kuzma's Extension, Talen Horton-Tucker's Role, More

The Los Angeles Lakers' title defense officially begins Tuesday night.

That's when the club will lock horns with its Staples Center co-tenants, the Los Angeles Clippers, as part of TNT's two-game slate to top off the 2020-21 season.

It's hardly a surprise, then, to see the Lakers are making noise on multiple fronts ahead of their first contest. We'll dissect the latest happenings here.

Kuzma Makes History with Contract Extension

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

While 2019-20 was a banner year for most things Purple and Gold, Kyle Kuzma quietly encountered his share of turbulence. As an isolation scorer with a shaky jumper, he wasn't a clean on-court fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and Kuzma's stat sheet stomached several hits, including career lows of 25.0 minutes and 12.8 points.

It was far from guaranteed, then, that he and the club would be able to find common ground on his first contract extension. But they did put pen to paper on a multiyear agreement, which ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported was worth $40 million over three seasons. The final year is a player option, which Wojnarowski noted was the first-ever included on a non-max rookie extension.

That's a sensible (and creative) arrangement for Kuzma, since this probably wasn't the payday he envisioned when he averaged 18.7 points as a sophomore in 2018-19. Then again, he didn't exactly perform like a $13 million player this past season, so it's smart to keep that final season in his back pocket in case his numbers don't recover between now and then.

The Lakers handed out several huge extensions this offseason—including new pacts with James and Davis—which likely greased the gears for this deal. With near-future cap space off the table, the franchise had little to lose and potentially plenty to gain by keeping Kuzma around.

Anthony Davis Envisions 'Big Role' for Preseason Breakout Performer

Kim Klement/Associated Press

Talen Horton-Tucker has been the talk of Tinseltown this preseason.

The sophomore barely made a peep during his rookie year, which he primarily spent in the G League. But he has snatched up every available inch of the preseason spotlight with per-game averages of 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals, plus an eye-opening 54.7/53.8/89.5 shooting slash.

While it's never easy to tell how much (if any) preseason production will carry over into the actual campaign, expectations are quickly rising for Horton-Tucker. Coach Frank Vogel said Horton-Tucker has "a chance to be really good for us immediately," and Davis echoed the belief in Horton-Tucker's instant-impact potential.

"For him to come in and play with so much confidence and do big things for us on defense and on the offensive end, it's huge for us," Davis told Spectrum SportsNet's Mike Trudell (h/t Silver Screen and Roll). "He's going to play a big role for us this year, and he's going to continue to learn."

Horton-Tucker, who turned 20 in November, should be years away from his best basketball, but his current level could be good enough to contribute to this season's club.

General Managers Like Lakers' Championship Chances, Offseason Moves

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

NBA.com recently released its 19th annual survey of the league's general managers, and it almost read like it was put together by the Lakers' public relations staff.

The defending champs were selected by 81 percent of respondents to repeat, which was the third-highest rate in the survey's history. The Lakers also set the high mark in which team had the best offseason by garnering 37 percent of the vote.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James tied for third in the MVP pick with each getting 18 percent of the vote. James was voted as the league's best small forward, second-best power forward and fifth-best point guard. On a very related noted, he was also named its most versatile player by 61 percent of the voters.

Davis, meanwhile, was the third-most popular pick as the player to start a franchise with and the second-best defender. The Montrezl Harrell signing was the fourth-most common response to the offseason's most surprising move.