It's a new year and the same problems for the Washington Wizards.
A 3-19 start to the 2024-25 NBA season has the Wizards on track to finish with a losing record for the seventh straight season. The franchise hasn't made the playoffs since 2020-21 and that drought will likely continue barring an unexpected turnaround across the campaign's final three quarters.
With the postseason being a pipedream, the Wizards will likely be one of the NBA's more active sellers ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Several Washington players could draw interest from playoff-bound teams before that date, including one particular individual.
"Several contending teams are expected to pursue Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma," NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Tuesday.
It isn't hard to see why a contending franchise would love to add Kuzma to the mix.
Despite the Wizards being one of the NBA's worst teams during his time in Washington, Kuzma has consistently been one of their best players. The ex-Utah Ute has averaged 20.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 45.3% from the floor and 33.4% from deep across 212 games with the franchise.
Kuzma's production is down a bit this season, though. The 29-year-old veteran is averaging his lowest point total (15.8) of his Wizards tenure while also putting up 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and .420/.276/.688 shooting splits.
Having said that, Kuzma's lackluster production could stem from the Wizards' abysmal roster. A trade to a contending team could see him back to his old self, especially since it was only last year that he averaged a career-high 22.2 PPG on 46.3 percent shooting.
Any team that's interested in Kuzma's services will be making a multi-year commitment. Not only does he carry a $23.5 million cap hit this season, per Spotrac, but he's also under contract for $21.4 million next year and $19.4 million in 2026-27.
That's a decent chunk of change, however, it's worth it for what Kuzma brings to the table. When the versatile veteran is on his game, he's a reliable player on both sides of the ball with a ton of experience stemming from over 500 games of NBA experience between the regular season and playoffs.
Kuzma's name has already been linked to multiple franchises this season. The Flint, Michigan native is viewed as a solid fit for the Los Angeles Lakers (his former team), according to Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley, while Athlon Sports' Jonah Kubicek recently penned a mock trade that would see the ex-2017 27th-overall pick end up with the Golden State Warriors.
With the Wizards unlikely to turn things around, Kuzma's name will only garner more trade interest the closer February's deadline becomes.
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This story was originally published December 10, 2024, 8:55 AM.