Kyle Kuzma feels Rob Pelinka gave up on him too early

During his summer trip to the Philippines, Kyle Kuzma opened up about his bittersweet tenure with the Lakers in 2021.

As part of his Asia tour this summer, former Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma visited the Philippines in late August. The one-time champion spent his brief time in Manila conducting a basketball clinic and meeting his fans, most of which were Lakers die-hards.

Kuzma also addressed the media in a press conference held at Dusit Thani Hotel, Manila.

In his press conference, Kuzma reminisced about his time with the purple and gold and how it felt to win a championship with the very memorable 2020 Lakers team. He also opened up about why he wishes Rob Pelinka and the Lakers didn’t give up on him so quickly after losing to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2021 Playoffs as well as the relationship he had with the late great Kobe Bryant.

Here’s a rundown of all that and more:

On Pelinka and the Lakers

As we all remember, Kuz was part of the package the Lakers traded to acquire Russell Westbrook, which was one of the worst transactions in franchise history. Although he was able to spread his wings on the Washington Wizards, Kuzma admitted he often thinks about what would’ve happened had he stayed with the Lakers instead.

“For sure, 100 percent. I think it’s tough because they kind of gave up on me,” Kuzma told All-Star Magazine’s Naveen Ganglani. “They gave up on that team too a little too early. Rob [Pelinka] panicked a little bit. But you know in the NBA, things happen fast, you never know what’s going to happen next. It’s always like a revolving door so we had a tough, tough stretch so it happens.”

October will mark four years since that 2020 Lakers team won the franchise’s most recent championship. The narrative about Pelinka breaking up that team remains a hot topic as it might just go down as the biggest mistake in the LeBron James and Anthony Davis era.

Kuz believes the Lakers would’ve gone back-to-back in ‘21

On the topic of breaking up the title team, that came only after a 2020-21 season which the Lakers looked capable of defending their title, but injuries, specifically to LeBron and Davis, derailed their chances.

Kuzma believes that if they were healthy, the purple and gold would’ve had banner No. 18 by now.

“Yeah, for sure, “ Kuzma said. “Easily. I mean, we were up 2-1 and [AD] got hurt and it all went down the drain. That season was hard for us because Bron got hurt — Solomon Hill ran into him — AD was down. We had a lot of different lineups and we came back from the bubble where we won the championship in October and then we had to play like two months later so naturally it was tough but we would’ve won back-to-back.”

Kuzma on why his time with the Lakers was “one of the most important of his life”

One thing Kuzma recognizes about his time as a Laker is how privileged he was to win a championship alongside notable superstars and veterans like James, Davis, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard and the rest of that title team.

Kuzma said he couldn’t ask for a better set of teammates to show him the ropes as a 24-year-old. All the lessons he learned in Los Angeles is the reason why he says his time as a Laker was one of the most important of his life.

“I think everybody got along, one to 17 [on the roster],” Kuzma said. “That was like the most important thing because you see it all the time. The teams that get along, they’re usually the better teams in the NBA. That’s what we kind of rode on together. We all trusted each other. We obviously had LeBron, greatest player of all time, Anthony Davis, a lot of smart high IQ vets like Danny Green, KCP, Dwight, JaVale [McGee], we had guys who were hungry. Then me being young, Alex Caruso so we had a squad.”

On being mentored by Kobe

Kuzma was one of the handful of young players who made an effort to reach out to Bryant and request to train with the five-time champion himself. Even now, Kuz believes that’s one of the best decisions he’s ever made in his life because it went a long way for him and his rising basketball career.

“[My relationship with Kobe] means the world, it means everything,” Kuzma said. “I think I was very blessed and fortunate when I first came into the NBA to build a relationship, a real relationship with Kobe and ask him about a lot of different things, whether it was basketball, life, business, relationship, what to do, what not to do.

“You know I think coming into the NBA being 22 years old and having somebody like that as a mentor, you know to just guide me but also just for me to take his words and do whatever with them is invaluable.”

Even if Kuzma no longer dons the same jersey that his mentor wore for 20 years, like Kobe, he will always be remembered as a Laker champion. The unforgettable 2020 Lakers team wouldn’t be complete without Kuz and his contributions.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.