Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma Linked to Jazz After Declining Player Option

Given the current state of the Washington Wizards, there's some change brewing within the franchise for the offseason. Bradley Beal is as good as gone, and Kristaps Porzingis’s name has been thrown around in trade rumors for the 3rd pick. Now, Jake Weinbach of HoopsHabit reports Kyle Kuzma is expected to decline his player option.

Kyle Kuzma is expected to decline his $13.0M player option with the Wizards and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Potential suitors for Kuzma could include the Pacers, Rockets, Spurs, Kings, and Jazz. A reunion with the Lakers is also a looming possibility.
— Jake Weinbach (@JWeinbachNBA) June 18, 2023

This doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Considering Kuzma’s not only worth more than $13 million but the potentially desired timeline the Wizards are trying to form doesn’t align with his. He’s 27 years old and entering his best years. Keeping him locked away on a rebuilding team in Washington benefits nobody, so finding a new home could be in play this summer.

As mentioned in Weinbach’s report, the Utah Jazz are listed as a part of the list of teams who could be a landing spot for Kuz. With the cap space on hand to make such a splash this summer, this could be one of the few realistic, big-name targets the Jazz could hit on. After beginning his college career with the Utah Utes, some lingering interest to return to his college roots could be a bonus for Kuz as well.

If Utah had intentions of being a competitive team in the West next year, a frontcourt consisting of Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Kuzma, and Walker Kessler would be a fantastic start. Combine this, with a potential three first-round picks coming on board as well, and this is a very formidable core to move forward with.

Being competitive sooner rather than later is something Jazz coach Will Hardy has emphasized throughout this offseason. Sometimes, a longer-term rebuild is a way a team would prefer to go after deciding to blow up their playoff-level core.

However, Will Hardy just doesn’t see it that way:

“Our mindset going into the summer is how do we get better?” Hardy said. “We’re not trying to drag this out into a super long thing...“Danny [Ainge] and Justin [Zanik] are great — they’re not impulsive and they’re not going to do things that don’t make sense,” Hardy said, “but I would say our collective mindset is like, we’re trying to be active in all of those fronts.”

- Jazz HC Will Hardy, via

ESPN’s Hoop Collective Podcast

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Kyle Kuzma also posted some great stats last year in Washington that may have been overlooked. He managed to post a career-high in points per game (21.2), along with about seven boards and three assists a night. Simply put, he's a solid piece of the frontcourt many teams could desire to have on their roster. The addition to the Jazz could create one of the best collective frontcourts the league has to offer as it provides a balance of size, scoring, and defensive ability.

With still a ton of time for free agency rumors to develop until it opens, the possibilities the Jazz could end up deciding to go this summer are endless.

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