Kyle Kuzma Thinks He Should Be An NBA Starter

The Los Angeles Lakers got fine production from second-year power forward Kyle Kuzma, who replaced Brandon Ingram in the starting lineup while the latter served a four-game suspension.

Though Ingram is back from his suspension, Kuzma believes he did more than enough to earn a starting job.

"Of course, everybody wants to be a starter and I feel like I'm a starter in this league, but I can't necessarily control that," Kuzma said, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic (h/t Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report) "I'm just a player. But we'll see what happens."

Ingram was suspended after getting into an altercation with Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets last week. He returned on Monday and had 24 points in the team's 124-120 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As for Kuzma, he played great along with LeBron James during Ingram's four-game suspension. That included a 37-point outing against the San Antonio Spurs last week, and a 22-point effort against the Denver Nuggets. Kuzma scored at least 15 points in the four games without Ingram.

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In seven games this year, Kuzma is averaging 19.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game. He's been the Lakers' most productive player after James, and head coach Luke Walton faces the tough task of making room for all his veterans and young players.

James, Ingram, Kuzma, Josh Hart, JaVale McGee, Lonzo Ball, Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson are all worthy of getting their minutes. All of them boast quality offensive skills and/or strong defensive play. It's hard for Walton to make everyone happy, but it's also imperative to make the most of both Kuzma and Ingram.

It's a good problem for the Lakers to have, but they must find a way to make it work for everyone. Remember, Los Angeles didn't want to trade any of their young players for Kawhi Leonard, whose desire was to be traded to one of the LA-based teams.

We'll see if he Lakers manage to find the right balance for both Kuzma or Ingram as the season continues. For now, the goal is to bust out of their woeful 2-5 start to 2018-19.

NEXT: THE LAKERS ARE A BETTER TEAM THAN THEIR RECORD SUGGESTS: WHY THEY'RE LOSING WITH LEBRON