Los Angeles Lakers guard Jared Dudley is one of the many veteran leaders on the Lakers. The 35-year-old player is in his 14th year in the league and is a fringe rotation player. However, his impact is measured in his experience. He is a solid glue-guy for the team, guiding the young players and helping the team chemistry mesh better.

Dudley spoke to the ‘Hoops, Adjacent’ podcast by The Athletic where he discussed multiple issues heading into the restart. He spoke about how the Lakers have an advantage due to their bonding and veteran experience and mask-wearing protocols. Moreover, he laid special emphasis into the high ceiling of Kyle Kuzma. He has been acting like a mentor to the young Kuzma. This is what he said.

“I always tell Kuz about the money… Your points per game don’t matter when you’re getting paid. The question is, how can you fit in with these two players? You’re not always going to get 18 points a game. People don’t understand that AD and LeBron play 38 minutes. His minutes are down six to seven minutes. So because your minutes are down, your shot attempts are going to be down.

“He’s hitting the lobs; he’s hitting the corner passes. He knows that I’m not always going to be able to score.… You could tell he’s been working on his game and is in great shape. But I always tell Kuz, give me three or four offensive rebounds. Give me one or two assists.”

Can Los Angeles Lakers form a Big Three?

The Lakers had established a superstar duo with Anthony Davis and LeBron James. However, some people expected Kuzma to continue his progression and possibly form a big three. However, Kuzma’s limited touches have seen a decline in both production and efficiency. Dudley has observed that negative trend in Kuzma’s game, and has motivated the youngster in practice.

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Dudley seems quite confident in Kuzma’s ability to take a leap forward in the restart. However, he himself has spoken about the challenges a young player would face in returning to a situation like this, compared to veterans like him. Kuzma is one of the few young players in the active Lakers rotation with Alex Caruso, so we will have to wait and see whether he has made any improvement over his disappointing regular season.

Source: Hoops, Adjacent