Lakers News: Ex-Laker Kyle Kuzma Will Opt Out Of Current Deal, Enter Unrestricted Free Agency This Summer

In the midst of his second game this season against the team that drafted him, our old pal Kyle Kuzma finds himself back in the news, having perhaps not-so-subtly signaled a willingness to move on from the Washington Wizards.

Earlier this week, Kuzma informed Ava Wallace of The Washington Post that he will opt out of the final year of his current contract, which had been scheduled to pay him $13 million for the 2022-23 NBA season, to enter unrestricted free agency this summer.

Beyond merely opting in to his deal, there's another mechanism that could allow the 27-year-old power forward to stay in D.C. The Wizards could sign him to a veteran contract extension during this season, which could maximally give him a four-year deal worth about $70 million.

Thanks in part to his excellent individual performance for Washington this season, Kuzma could be in line to make more than that in free agency. “Those are just business decisions,” Kuzma told Wallace.

"The max I can make if I sign right now is $15 [million]," Kuzma relayed to ESPN's Dave McMenamin in a subsequent conversation. "If you look at the market, that's not market price."

The Wizards have lost 11 of their last 12 games and have tumbled out of the playoff picture in the East. Though Kuzma is apparently against publicly requesting a trade to ship him out of town, he certainly appears to have dropped some hints that he might be interested in a Lakers reunion.

Check out this tweet, sent out when Kuzma first touched down this week:

Nothing like getting off the plane and that California breeze hit you 🌴
— kuz (@kylekuzma) December 15, 2022

During team warmups ahead of tonight's matchup in his old stomping grounds, Kuzma wore a do-rag that was distinctively a Lakers shade of purple.

Kyle Kuzma warming up wearing some purple tonight pic.twitter.com/kvxHaxE2BZ
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) December 19, 2022

"I definitely could [ask to be dealt]," Kuzma commented to McMenamin. "But that's very immature. I'm not a really immature person. I like to do business in a professional way. So, I would never do that."

Still, by signaling to his current team that he is very, very open to joining a new one in the summer, one wonders if this could be sort of a backdoor way of maybe, kind of, hoping to be flipped to a better situation than the 11-19 Wizards.

As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report laid out, Los Angeles is at least considering a reunion. The Lakers could try to flip the $13 million contract of veteran point guard Patrick Beverley (which matches perfectly with Kuzma's salary) and send out a protected first-round draft pick in exchange for Kuzma.

In speaking with Mellisa Rohlin of Fox Sports about the Lakers' rumored interest in bring him back into the fold, Kuzma certainly seemed appreciative to be considered. “I think it just shows you the grass is not always greener,” Kuzma told Rohlin. “It’s definitely a good thing because at the end of the day, that means I’ve been playing well, and I have value in this league, that a team would want to trade for me. It’s a blessing.”

"The Wizards love me. It's going to be really tough to do," Kuzma later noted to McMenamin. "Do the Lakers have anything [to make a deal]?"

Kuzma is currently averaging a career-best 21.3 points per night, at a career-best conversion rate of 46.1% (on a career-most 17.7 attempts from the floor). He's also chipping in 7.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists through 29 games for the Wizards.

If Washington continues to dip in the East standings, will the team eventually warm up to the idea of trading Kuzma away for value now, rather than letting him walk as a free agent?

Kuzma still clearly has love for L.A.

"It means everything to me and my career," Kuzma said of his connection to the Lakers, with whom he won a title as a vital role player in 2020. "They're the team that gave me an opportunity to be who I am, to provide for my family. They provided this platform that I have. It means everything in the world."

Kuz told McMenamin he still keeps tabs on his old club, often even watching their games. "I play on the East Coast and it's 10 o'clock when I get home and the Lakers play 40 times a year [on national television]," Kuzma said. "So it's the only game on TV."

Kuzma continues to stay in touch with L.A. All-Star LeBron James, as well.

"I have a great relationship with 'Bron," Kuzma noted. "I talk to him often. He's always been like a mentor to me, someone I've always looked at as someone I try to pattern my game after. I've watched him for so many years and see how effective he is at getting others involved and how important that is. I ask him questions, whatever. He's always been like a big brother to me."

Bringing Kuzma back after letting him go a bit prematurely would be a very Lakers move. Among the current roster alone, three players (Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones, Dennis Schröder) are in their second non-consecutive tour of duty with the franchise.