The Los Angeles Lakers are a stellar organization in the league. Laker fans have reason to be hopeful for the future because of the terrific young players that they have drafted in recent years.
They are slowly building a good team for years to come with new faces like Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma. The question stands for who is the true face of the franchise now that Kobe Bryant decided to retire.
The face of the franchise
Magic Johnson is leading this Laker team to stardom or doom. However, it seems like he is leading them to stardom because he has a great mind for the game of basketball and he was a terrific player.
He chose to draft Lonzo Ball and despite all the criticisms on the young guard, he made the right choice.
Lonzo Ball is the face of the franchise for now and years to come. There is something truly special about the guard with how he gets teammates involved and when he is inserted into the starting lineup the Lakers win. He can throw the ball perfectly and create easy opportunities for his teammates and rebound the ball. He will just have to shoot the basketball better and develop to be an elite guard. Without the guard, the team loses games by a wide margin.
The Lakers steal
The Los Angeles Lakers acquired another terrific player besides Lonzo Ball in partner Kyle Kuzma, who has dazzled on the court.
The story of the Lakers has been the steal of Kuzma. Kuzma has a lot of confidence in his game and as he should end up averaging about 16 points per game with six rebounds based on statistics on the ESPN database.
The 22-year-old is shooting 45 percent from the floor and 37 percent from the three-point line in his first year.
The kid can flat out shoot the basketball and he is creative off the dribble. He can take it into the paint and score with a nice hook shot, or shoot from the three-point line. The 6 foot 9 forward is not afraid of the big moments either.
A lot of critics slept on Kyle Kuzma, who went to the University of Utah. Lonzo Ball only stayed at college (UCLA) one year and got drafted so he needs time to develop and improve, which he will.
Up and down season
Despite the Lakers showing flashes of brilliance and good play, it looks like, with a bit over half of the season gone, that the Lakers will not make the playoffs, once again, with a record of 17-29. This is what is expected of a young team with some veteran players in the Western Conference.
The Lakers fans should not be disappointed, though, because they have special players for the future in Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart.
We will also have to see what is going to happen in the offseason with LeBron James being a free agent. It would not be surprising for him to chose the Lakers for business and for the talent surrounding him. Paul George has also displayed a lot of interest in the Lakers. The combination of LeBron James, Paul George, and Lonzo Ball would make the Lakers an elite team.