Kyle Kuzma Chooses Wizards Over Mavs Trade: Blessing in Disguise for Dallas?
Sometimes, the best move at the trade deadline is to not make a move for a specific player.
For the Dallas Mavericks, not trading for Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, and instead acquiring center Daniel Gafford as well as P.J. Washington, may have been a blessing in disguises for them.
For Gafford, specifically, he’s only two games into his tenure in Dallas, but the early returns have looked more than promising. The 25-year-old center had a double-double in his second game with 16 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in 24 points in Dallas' 112-104 win over Washington on Monday at the American Airlines Center. He was also just one rebound short of a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds in the Mavs' 146-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
After Gafford's performance against Washington, Kuzma spoke on how he feels for his former teammate and how he's set up to thrive in his role playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Kyle Kuzma.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
"Gafford's got the easiest job in sports now," Kuzma said of Gafford after the game. "Everybody is going to double, he's just got to catch the ball in the middle of the key, and he just has to make the right play, either pass or dunk it. [He had] 16 and 17 in 24 minutes... I am very happy for him."
Kuzma was reportedly a top target for Dallas at the trade deadline, and The Athletic reported that Washington presented him with an option where he could have ended up with the Mavs, but he turned it down. Kuzma has averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season.
While Kuzma may have filled a void at forward for the Mavs, the price it would have cost to land him would’ve been high enough to keep them from adding both Gafford and Washington as well. To make matters more complicated, having a player who would have preferred to stay with his former team could have had a debilitating effect on Dallas' push for a playoff spot.
In Gafford and Washington, Dallas filled two critical needs for this season and the future, as they're both under contract for the next three seasons. Not to mention, both players are thrilled to be in Dallas, which is great for team morale going forward.
Kuzma had every right to choose if he wanted to stay in Washington or get traded to a contender. The fact that he was afforded that option by the Wizards is rare, especially from a franchise in the middle of a rebuild and is trying to accumulate picks for the future.
But through Kuzma exercising his option to stay put in Washington, it forced Dallas to pivot to Gafford and Washington, and through two games, both have proven they have the potential to be two cornerstones in the Mavs' frontcourt for this season and beyond.
