Lakers Secretly Have a HIDDEN 3&D GEM with Arthur Kaluma?! | + Is Bronny James READY?

You know, something that many Laker

fans, myself included, have often

complained about this Laker team does

happen to be a clear lack of two-way

talent and 3 and D talent, especially

big 3 and D wing talent. I mean, if you

go off the metrics that a 3 and wing has

to be a 35% plus three-point shooter,

which is around league average and then

an above average defender, they don't

really have one. I mean, pointing to Rua

Chimera, for example, definitely has a

three-point shooting down, shooting

roughly 43% from beyond the ark, but is

not a good defender. In fact, is one of

the lowest rated defenders on their

entire team. Then for a guy like Marcus

Smart, for example, great defensively

but doesn't meet the three-point

shooting criteria as he is shooting

below 34%.

Same thing for a guy like Jake Dabia,

good defensively, good defensive

disruptor, but also falls under 35% from

three, only shooting roughly 32%. And

the same can be said for Jared

Vanderbilt, Dalton Connect, again pretty

much every other role player on their

team, either offensively or defensely.

I mean, I don't know if Rob Plinka and

this Lakers scamming department are

allergic to them or simply don't like

that archetype for whatever reason, but

they rarely if ever bring them in,

neither through draft, the trade market,

free agent market, or basically through

any market. So, whenever they do pick

one up, either with their big league

team, the actual Lakers team, under a

15-man roster spot, or under a two-way

contract, let alone even on their

G-League team, I will always be closely

monitoring that player. And while he's

not under a 15-man roster spot, not even

under a two-way contract, even though I

think he should be, they do have a

player like that in their G-League team.

That player being Arthur Kuma following

him going on draft day in the 2025 NBA

draft last summer. The Lakers quickly

picked him up, signing him to an exhibit

10 contract, which is simply a training

camp contract. He played with the Lakers

summer league team, was a part of their

training camp roster, got a little bit

of burned throughout preseason, but

eventually was waved and not signed to a

two-way contract, which again I did want

him to be. And well, he did stick around

with their team, just with their South

Bay Lakers team, not their big league

team. And throughout the G- League

season, he's actually played very well

despite coming off the bench for a large

majority of it. Has put up roughly 15

points per game in only 26 minutes per

game. Not to mention as grabbed five

rebounds per game, dished out roughly

two assists per game, and it shot a very

efficient 55% from the field and 37%

from the three-point line. And again, he

does happen to be a big wing, measuring

in at 6'7, weighing roughly 225 lbs and

with a 7'1 wingspan. So yes, he

definitely does qualify as a 3D wing.

And he's shown that throughout the

G-League, throughout summer league,

dating all the way back to his college

career, too.

So, with the Lakers lack of two-way

talent, with their lack of 3 and D

talent, again, especially big 3 and D

talent, I think they need to give every

guy like that a good look, they need to

close team monitor them and potentially

try to keep them around for their team

going forward. And yes, I do think

Arthur Kuma falls into this category.

Yes, he's only shown it at the G- League

level, not at the NBA level, but it's

not been for a lack of trying. Simply

put, he's not gotten an opportunity. And

in my opinion, every player like that,

whether they're on their actual team

under a 50-man roster spot, a two-way

contract, or simply with their self-paid

Lakers team, they should be paying

attention to. And in my opinion, Arthur

Kumman does fall into that category, as

does a guy like Bronny James, too. Yes,

Bronny. You know, he doesn't get talked

about much, and if he does, it's usually

not in a positive light. But this

season, he's quietly played pretty well

at both the G- League level and even

lately in some spot rotational minutes,

too. Yes, very brief minutes, but he

hasn't looked bad during them. In fact,

he's actually shown some good moments.

So, in an effort to spotlight that every

speck of 3 and talent they have on their

team, again, whether it's their actual

team or their G-League team, I think we

need to pay closer attention to both

Bronny and Arthur Kuma. Yes, there

definitely might be a a recognizable

name difference there with Ronnie James,

the son of LeBron, and Arthur Kuma, a

current G-League, but I think they both

deserve a spotlight and both should be

pay attention to. But beginning with a

bit more of Arthur Kuma, like I talked

about, is currently a rookie for the G-

League team. Doesn't happen to be on a

50-man roster spot. Therefore, is not

under a guaranteed or non-g guaranteed

contract with them, let alone even a

two-way contract, which is also not a

guaranteed contract, but I think he

should be. At this current moment,

Lakers three two-way contracts are as

follows. Drew Timmy, who is kind of a

power forward center hybrid. Kind of a

center, but also kind of a power

forward. Limited due to his height to

play center, but limited a bit due to

his skill set, mainly on defense, to be

able to play power forward. So, that's

number one. And I wouldn't look to

replace Stia. I think he's shown some

good moments and does deserve to be

under a two-way contract, but you can

make an argument for both Chris Manion

and Nick Smith to maybe take a bit of a

closer look at. And for Chris Manion,

also a rookie, also undrafted out of the

2025 NBA draft class and has spent the

entire season with the Lakers South Bay

team. And for Manion, I've liked what

he's shown at times, but you know, with

the lack of offensive development, with

the lack of a reliable three-point shot,

you can make an argument that obviously

no, he doesn't fall under the 3D

category, doesn't fall under a two-way

ability category either. Not from a

reliable standpoint, but from how good

he has been defensely. I mean, the

defensive disruption, averaging over two

steals per game, even for a large part

of the G-League season, averaging over

one block per game as a 6'4, maybe 6'5

guard. Yeah, there's a lot to like there

with him on defense, is very athletic,

and obviously does have untapped

potential offensively. I would look to

hold on to him a bit longer. However,

then for their third and final two-way

contract, that being Nick Smith, you

know, the one that's actually shown the

most at the NBA level, but mainly

offensively, and has not been

particularly reliable, and is the

furthest away from a two-way standpoint,

a 3D ability standpoint, I would maybe

look to replace him given what they have

in front of him. Everyone from obviously

Luca Donuch, Austin Reeves, the main

guards in the rotation, all the way down

to Marcus Smart, Luke Canard, even guys

like Dolan Connect and Kobe Buffkin.

Heck, even Bronnie, all of which are

under a guaranteed contract and

therefore fall in front of him. I think

there's real argument to maybe replace

that skill set with one that they don't

have, or at least I think they should

have done that long ago. And in my

opinion, that's where a guy like Arthur

Kuma could fall into that category. You

know, again, they don't really have a

guy like him. Don't have a big 3D wing

that actually qualifies via the metrics,

whether it be the three-point shooting

and the defense. Both of them together

don't really have a guy like that. Yes,

I'd love for Jakeia to become that. He's

shown it at moments and does above side

yet. Is still only 23 years old. In

fact, is actually a little bit younger