Kautz functions have received much attention in the recent mathematical modeling and identification literature. These functions which involve free parameters can approximate efficiently signals with strong oscillatory behavior. We consider here the choice of the free parameters in discrete (two-parameter) Kautz approximation. Using a key relationship between Kautz and Laguerre expansions we derive an upper bound for the quadratic truncation error. Minimization of this upper bound yields pertinent parameters, whose computation then requires reduced knowledge of the function to be modeled.