For the Lakers to contend for a title, they’ll need Kyle Kuzma to take the next step.

Kuzma thinks he’s ready to do just that.

“I don’t feel no pressure, but I believe that I am capable of being that superstar,” Kuzma told ESPN. “I put a lot of work in. My progress through my journey shows that I can be there. I developed every single year, dating back to college, and I don’t see that development stunting at all.

“Last year, I didn’t shoot the ball well, and I still averaged almost 20 (points per game). If I can shoot the ball well and keep developing the facets of my game defensively, I don’t see why I can’t (be that third star).”

In trading for Anthony Davis, the Lakers created enough cap space to sign a max player to possibly create their own Big Three with Davis and LeBron James, but they lost the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes to the rival Clippers.

Shooting the ball better and playing good defense are easier said than done. Kuzma is a career 33.5 percent shooter from 3 — right on the cusp of acceptable — and his defense, both by metrics and the eye test, needs some serious work.

At age 24, that’s to be expected. He’s only going into his third year in the league. But there is a lot of pressure on Kuzma to take a step forward playing alongside Davis and James.

He’s the lone player left of a Lakers core that was centered around young players — Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart in addition to himself. He’s the guy the front office wanted to hold onto.

“They didn’t want to trade none of us, obviously,” Kuzma told ESPN. “We were a great young group that had a lot of promise. Anytime you got three, four young guys as a core in the NBA, you don’t want to trade those guys. But you have an opportunity to get a generational talent, stuff is bound to happen.”

Instead of growing with that young core, Kuzma will be playing mostly off the ball, expected to complement not one but two generational stars.

“I’ve never been a ball-dominant guy,” Kuzma said. “I’ve always played off the ball. It is going to be a little bit easier, going to have a lot of open shots. It is my job to trust my summer workouts and what I’ve done. Just breathe, focus and knock those shots down, because I’m going to be open.”