What Will The Wizards Decide To Do With Kyle Kuzma?
In this story:
The Washington Wizards found themselves a part of the first impactful trade made during the 2022-23 NBA season on Monday, as they dealt forward Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for guard Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks.
As for the full trade details, the Lakers sent a 2023 second-round pick via Chicago, their own 2029 second-round pick and the least favorable of their own 2028 second-round pick and that of Washington in 2028 to the Wizards as part of this Hachimura trade.
Hachimura, 24, is currently in the final year of his rookie deal and with him set to enter restricted free agency in the offseason, it made the most sense for the Wizards to trade him now.
However, there are now questions about what Washington will do next, as this seems like a precursor move for them with the trade deadline just over two weeks away.
The Wizards core of Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma is not bad whatsoever, but Washington does seem to need to add a little bit more talent to their second-unit in order to be a real threat in the Eastern Conference.
Not to mention, Kuzma’s future is still very much up-in-the-air since he has a player option for next season that he will most likely decline to enter unrestricted free agency.
This trade made by the Wizards on Monday though is very interesting, especially pertaining to Kuzma and his future.
If Washington did not believe that they had a chance to re-sign Kuzma and/or give him a long-term extension, they would not have really had a need to get rid of Hachimura.
Trading Rui Hachimura to the Lakers not only gives the Wizards some added assets to make more future moves, but this trade may just signify to the rest of the league that Washington is about to keep Kuzma long-term.
This is a mindset that many around the league tend to have as well, as NBA insider Marc Stein reported that this trade involving Hachimura is a reflection of the team’s increasing confidence in being able to re-sign Kyle Kuzma this summer.
Kuzma, 27, has been having the best season of his career with the Wizards, averaging 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from three-point range.
Still being relatively young and fitting the same timeline as Beal and Porzingis right now, Kuzma does appear to be that third player the Wizards want to build with.
As things stand right now, it is hard to believe that the Wizards will be open to the idea of trading Kuzma unless they simply get an offer that they cannot refuse. It would take a lot to pry the former first-round pick away from Washington and we should expect to see him in a Wizards uniform for the foreseeable future.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.
