The trade market is hopefully going to get extremely active after the first move of the winter finally went down, with the Lakers acquiring Rui Hachimura for Kendrick Nunn and 3 second-round picks, a low-risk flier to take on a young forward. The Lakers also intend to agree on a contract extension with Hachimura to ensure they have a player of his caliber on the roster in the long term.
When it comes to forwards in Washington, one that’s been angling to leave is Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma has rebuffed contract extension talks with Washington and will hit the open market in the summer. Many have said Washington should get an asset for Kuzma by trading him but it seems the Wizards traded Hachimura away to focus on re-signing Kuzma this summer.
“The Wizards had no intention of rewarding Hachimura that type of money, and this trade says as much about Washington’s goal of re-signing forward Kyle Kuzma as anything else. The Wizards have told inquiring teams, such as the Hawks and Suns, that Kuzma is not available for trade, sources said, despite his objective to decline next season’s player option and test the open market.” (h/t Yahoo)
Given Kuzma’s status as an expiring contract, no team will give up the draft assets that Washington will want for a player of his caliber. They may be better off keeping him for the remainder of the season and hope they can offer him more than any interested team. Teams like the Suns, Bulls, and Knicks have been linked in trades for him.
Should Washington Trade Kyle Kuzma Now?
Nobody knows the direction the Wizards want to go in. Are they looking to re-tool to contend? Unlikely given they just traded for Kendrick Nunn. The cap situation of the team with the massive Bradley Beal contract and possibly another year of Kristaps Porzingis means they don’t have money to get valuable free agents anyway.
Instead of getting purely picks, Washington should price Kuzma for a high-potential young player that a contending team might not have the time to develop. There’s no reason for Kuzma to stay in Washington in the summer outside the team offering him the most money. Trading him away might be a solid option.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, but the Wizards should consider trading these players away and starting to rebuild a roster that’s been stagnant for over 5 seasons now.
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