After a horrific campaign, it may be time for the Wizards to move on from this key player.
The Washington Wizards were not expected to do much in the 2023-24 campaign, and once they traded star guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns over the offseason, their fate was sealed. After years of mediocrity, the team was starting over and beginning a lengthy and extensive rebuild. The Wizards are in early asset accumulation mode, and they will be throughout the upcoming offseason.
That strategy could lead to them shopping some veterans for draft picks and/or young players, and Washington has plenty of options available to help them stock up on future assets. While there are several players they could deal, if the Wizards really want to land some premier draft capital that can help them in the future, they could fetch that by trading away Kyle Kuzma.
Player Wizards must trade: Kyle Kuzma
The Wizards were reportedly close to dealing Kuzma at this year’s trade deadline, as they could have gotten an unprotected first-round pick for him. But it became clear that Kuzma wanted to stick with Washington, which is why they elected not to trade. Despite Kuzma’s wishes, many teams will have future picks freed up to trade this offseason, and an unprotected first-round pick would be very valuable to a rebuilding team like the Wizards.
Using the Dallas Mavericks as an example, they traded for P.J. Washington from the Charlotte Hornets after they struck out on Kuzma. The Mavs sent Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a top-2 protected first-round pick in 2027 for the former Kentucky forward.
If that’s the deal the Hornets got for Washington, it’s easy to make the case that the Wizards can get more for Kuzma, as he is a better player than Dallas’ new wing. Kuzma has averaged over 21 points per game in each of the past two campaigns on solid efficiency. His 51.8 and 52.1 percent effective field goal percentages aren’t spectacular, but they are good enough for the volume he’s producing at. On the other hand, Washington has never averaged more than 15.7 points per game in any year of his career.
The high-volume scoring role Kuzma has had the last two seasons likely won’t be what is asked of him with whatever team trades for him. Fortunately, he can adapt to a role change. He took a step back offensively in terms of usage when he won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2019-20 season, as he averaged just 12.8 points and 11 shots per game on a 22.9 percent usage rate.
That usage rate is the third-lowest of his career, but Kuzma honed in on his defense and rebounding and ended up playing a big role on that championship team. Kuzma has already proven he can play on winning teams, which should help further increase his value for Washington.
Kuzma’s contract is very manageable as the years go by. He has three years left on his current deal, and his annual salary decreases with each passing season. That should help the team’s that are interested in him make the money work.
For a team that is deep in a rebuild, the Wizards don’t have many extra first-round picks to work with. They got one as a result of trading Daniel Gafford to the Mavericks at the deadline and another one from the Golden State Warriors in the Chris Paul, Jordan Poole swap. But that could change if they deal Kuzma in the offseason, and considering where they currently find themselves, it seems like the most sensible move to make for all parties involved.
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