According to ESPN Woj's previous report, the Lakers and Kuzma reached a three-year contract extension with a total value of 40 million US dollars, which will take effect from the 20021-22 season. It is worth mentioning that in the third year of this contract, that is, the 23-24 season, Kuzma will hold the player option, which is the first time in the history of the league. Non-top-paid rookie has the player option in his renewal. This means that at the golden age of 28, Kuzma will have the right to re-enter the free market and choose his next home.
From this privilege option, it is not difficult to see that the Lakers attach importance to Kuzma, and from the size of the contract, the Lakers still have certain expectations for the growth of Kuzma in the new season. Shortly after Kuzma renewed his contract, Lakers general manager Pelinka also openly talked about the young man's contract renewal. Pelinka said that this is a very happy thing for the Lakers, because the team selected a young man through the draft, trained him and now kept him, which is a happy thing in itself.
At the same time, Pelinka believes that Kuzma has made great progress in the past three years. Especially in the process of winning the Lakers championship last season, Kuzma played a vital role and was an excellent member of the team. Therefore, everyone in the Lakers is happy and excited that he can complete the contract renewal.
In addition to the general manager of the team, two core members of the Lakers also publicly congratulated Kuzma for completing the contract renewal ahead of schedule. Among them, Brother Thick Eyebrows said in an interview that Kuzma can finally play football without any contract pressure. Brother Thick Eyebrows thinks that Kuzma is the champion, so it is natural to renew his contract in advance. At the same time, Brother Thick Eyebrows said that Kuzma was willing to face some difficult opponents on the defensive end, which impressed him very much.
Lao Zhan expressed his congratulations to Kuzma through social media at the first time. After the American media revealed that Kuzma had renewed his contract, James quickly forwarded the tweet with the caption: "KUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZ! ! ! Congratulations! My brother, you must treat me to dinner next time! "
From this series of voices, we can easily see that the Lakers are very happy to keep Kuzma. After all, there are not many young talents in the Lakers lineup, and Kuzma's contract is not too big. Although Kuzma's growth and efficiency were somewhat worrying last season, in the preseason, Kuzma's performance was remarkable. Especially in the first three games, Kuzma averaged 22 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game when Zhan Mei was absent or had a long rest.
Considering the new season, the rise of young Tucker and the possibility that Kuzma will become a winger more often, this signing is likely to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, it is to keep Kuzma, let this young player try to complete his offensive and defensive talent under the brand-new role positioning, and also give other young players in the team some confidence to stay in the team.
On the other hand, the contract amount is not large, but it is convenient for the team to conduct subsequent transactions. If Kuzma doesn't perform well in his new role, the deal will send him away. This contract is easy to handle, especially in the case that most teams are bonus contracts, and it is also convenient for salary balance.