The Wizards need to figure out what Kyle Kuzma‘s intentions are ahead of the February 9 trade deadline, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic. If the 27-year-old doesn’t commit to re-signing with the Wizards in advance — technically forbidden, but of course early discussions happen all the time and that’s why dozens of signings occur within minutes of free agency “opening” — then the team would be better off dealing him for assets, according to Aldridge.
Aldridge isn’t opposed to the idea of a swap for John Collins — he thinks Kuzma is a better overall player, but the difference isn’t “prohibitive.” However, the Wizards have more questions to answer about the roster than just Kuzma’s potential future with the team, including what an expensive trio of Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal might mean for the future.
After dropping 10 in a row, the Wizards have now won five of their past six games, including four straight. They currently sit at 16-21, one game behind the Bulls for the No. 10 seed in the East.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- Mark Williams‘ emergence has created a “welcomed dilemma” for the Hornets, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The rookie first-rounder, selected 15th overall in June’s draft, was given backup center minutes in recent games due to an ankle sprain to Nick Richards. With Richards available on Thursday, head coach Steve Clifford continued to use Williams, and he responded with a career night, Boone notes, recording 17 points (on 7-of-7 shooting), 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in just 21 minutes. “To me, they’re both developing players,” Clifford said of Richards and Williams. “When you have a roster of a lot of younger players, you do them both. You want to try to develop them and win as many games as we can. And we’re in a place where we need to win. But we’ve got to see. Yeah, it’s not easy. We have a lot of guys at that position. Nick’s going to be a part of things. I like the way he plays. He’s done a good job. But I also want to see what Mark can bring.”
- Heat backup center Dewayne Dedmon is away from the team as he continues to be plagued by plantar fasciitis in his left foot. On top of that, he has now entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The 33-year-old might be a trade chip ahead of the deadline if the Heat look for a roster upgrade — his salary for next season is non-guaranteed, and he’s making $4.7MM this season.
- Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports details how wing Max Strus went from an undrafted free agent to a rotation regular for the Heat, becoming a developmental success story in the process. Strus, an unrestricted free agent in 2023, has been in a prolonged shooting slump this month, posting a miserable .328/.266/.500 slash line leading up to Friday night’s loss in Denver, when he scored 19 points on .539/.500/1.000 shooting. Twenty-year veteran Udonis Haslem, another former undrafted player, says Strus can be hard on himself — a byproduct of having a chip on his shoulder due to his difficult path to the NBA. “My message to Max, a lot of the time, outside of leading and teaching, is don’t be so hard on yourself sometimes. It’s OK to give yourself a break,” Haslem said.
Why the heck is Mason Plumlee getting minutes ahead of Williams and Richards??
Maybe it’s because they are tanking for Wembanyama?
Wizards would be smart to move Kuzma.
As for the John Collins link, in order to salary match Washington likely have to give Delon Wright up aswell. Atlanta a might actually like that, Delon was good for them last season and his size and versatility could be good with Murray and Trae.
The deal
John Collins and Aaron Holiday for Kyle Kuzma and Delon Wright.
However if Atlanta don’t want Kuzma then I’m sure they could go to Phoenix and offer them Kuzma for Crowder as apart of the deal.
Crowder being a more defensive minded forward, more of a veteran presence and less likely to add to locker room drama and gets them out of having to give Kuzma a big deal as Crowders will be less. Pheonix would probably take Kuzma for Crowder as offers have been low and slow for them. Kuzma helps with a championship push and I think would actually suit that team. He could do with CP3 and Monty Williams guidance. They have a need for a bit of a shooter next to Booker that way CP3 can focus more on playmaking and Bridges on defence. A forward trio of Bridges Kuzma and Johnson would be really intriguing.
Think this would be a smart direction for all teams
“The Wizards need to figure out what Kyle Kuzma‘s intentions are ahead of the February 9 trade deadline.”
Did he not out and out say he would explore free agency? What is there to “figure out?”
He said he’ll sign a contract in free agency instead of an in-season extension — that doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to leave the team, since that’s just what players do when they think they’re worth more than their maximum extension amount. The Wizards had basically the same situation with Beal last season.
I think kuzma can carry a team and needs to be kept here in dc as they are really figuring it out now for the first time how to win regardless of their budget. The mgt needs to compromise and keep on adding pieces to bolster this team. For me, beal has to go and not kuzma. Everybody eats.
A lot of teams should make a run at Kuzma. The way Beal was handled by Washington isn’t a good sign they will handle their good fortune with Kuzma appropriately. They have Hachimura getting ready for starter minutes. They can’t afford, and shouldn’t KP, Beal, and now Kuzma on 30+ million deals & then some, with the product they would be putting on the floor. And how long before the next KP injury sitch? Trade Kuzma, Bolster the team, target a coming out party for next season, or the year after. Maybe even trade Beal. This is a rebuild, and roster fluctuations should be expected, and the norm until they have a foundation not built on KP’s shaky knee’s.
I’m ok with Kuzma playing the 3 for Knicks.
Knicks should make an offer. Wash is not resigning him. They have to get value now.