Despite having a chance to join a Dallas Mavericks team that could have been a title contender with his addition, Kyle Kuzma chose to instead stay with a nine-win Washington Wizards team for the rest of the season.
Heading into the 2024 NBA trade deadline, there were rumors that both the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings had Washington Wizards star Kyle Kuzma at the top of their trade wish list. Both are top-eight teams in the current NBA standings and could have used an impact player like Kuzma to give their title hopes a major boost this year.
Yet the trade deadline came and went and neither team was able to acquire the 28-year-old who has averaged over 20 points per game the last two seasons. With a couple of other notable players not being moved last week the assumption was that Washington’s asking price was too high. Well, not so fast.
- Kyle Kuzma stats (2023-24): 21.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, 33% 3PT
Related: Experts believe Dallas Mavericks won NBA trade deadline
In a conversation with Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Kuzma revealed that Wizards president Michael Winger gave him the chance to go to Dallas but declined the opportunity to play alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
“There was a point in time, Dallas, they definitely did want me,” Kuzma said. “Winger presented me with what the trade was and obviously didn’t want to trade me and kind of left the decision up to me a little bit and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to stay and continue to build something. And that was kind of the end of it.”
Kuzma already has a questionable reputation with some around the league. While loyalty is a good thing, it certainly won’t help opinions about him that he turned down the chance to play on a winning team with championship hopes to be the face of a group heading to the NBA Draft lottery with one of the worst records in the league.