The Los Angeles Lakers acquire Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster 5 team trade, sending out Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell out, to the Wizards. The Wizards also ended up getting Aaron Holiday from the Indiana Pacers, and Spencer Dinwiddie via sign-and-trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
While giving up a former MVP like Russell Westbrook may have rid the Wizards of their second-best player at the time, Kyle Kuzma revealed that he believes the Washington Wizards made the right decision. According to an article by Chase Hughes of NBC Sports, Kuzma stated that the team definitely should have taken the opportunity to “get five good basketball players for one” even if Westbrook is a Hall of Fame player.
The Wizards then flipped a draft pick for Aaron Holiday and signed Spencer Dinwiddie as part of the trade. Kuzma put on his GM hat after Friday’s game to evaluate the deal in hindsight.
“I mean, you gotta do that trade 10 out of 10 times. If you have an opportunity to get five good basketball players for one, it makes sense. Granted, [Westbrook is] obviously a Hall of Fame player and everything. He’s an unbelievable player, don’t take that wrong,” Kuzma said.
“But especially for a team like Washington, if you look at the track record from the past couple of years, it hasn’t necessarily been enough ballplayers here… It’s smart, you have to do it if you’re a GM.”
Those offseason moves, along with the hiring of head coach Wes Unseld Jr., have ignited a new era for the Wizards and they are off to a good start, having won their first two games. They beat the Pacers without Bradley Beal, their best player.
The Washington Wizards have looked good to begin the season, recently beating the Indiana Pacers even without Bradley Beal. It’s certainly difficult for teams to win without their best player, and the fact that the Wizards managed to do that without a 30 PPG scorer is particularly impressive.
There are people who believe that Kyle Kuzma will have a career year with the Washington Wizards, and that would certainly help their chances of making the playoffs. Kyle Kuzma has certainly had a great start in Washington, and hopefully, his stellar play continues.
