Veteran leadership can be often overstated, but in the case of Jared Dudley, you could see it oozing from him at Lakers media day. Fully immersed in the scrums, he’s looking forward to the battles ahead and playing whatever role it takes to help the Lakers earn title 17.
Throughout his 12-year career, Dudley has been on both rebuilding teams and franchises that played well into the playoffs. All of this experience has connected him with lots of personalities and what it takes to bring them together. He spoke about the importance of the Lakers building bonds on the road:
Jared Dudley said that he thinks that a team has to like each other to play at a high level, and that the trip to China is big for the team. 16 hour flights there and back, getting to know each other, playing cards on the plane, etc.
— Laker Film Room (@LakerFilmRoom) September 27, 2019
While establishing himself on the roster, Dudley’s plans to elevate Kyle Kuzma is an exciting part of the season to keep an eye on. Last year with the Brooklyn Nets he played a crucial role in former Laker D’Angelo Russell making the all-star leap.
Here are some quotes from Laker Film Room’s Pete Zayas.
Dudley said that his guy this year in terms of mentorship is Kyle Kuzma. Said that D'Angelo Russell was that guy last year with the Nets, where they'd watch tape together and figure out what DLo needed to do to take the next step.
— Laker Film Room (@LakerFilmRoom) September 27, 2019
Kuzma is holding onto all-star aspirations and proving to the league that he’s a worthy component to forming a dominant trio alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Russell was able to establish himself as a much different player on and off the floor as a Net. This season will be one of the most important ones of Kuzma’s young career. The acquisition of Dudley may prove to be an excellent decision by the Lakers.
