The
Washington Wizards didn't make any big moves last week at the NBA
trade deadline but they came very close to sending away their biggest star,
Kyle Kuzma.
Kuzma, who is now in his third season with the team, almost moved to the
Dallas Mavericks. The deal was apparently all set and ready to go, but it was Kuzma himself who put the squash on the whole idea.
Speaking with The Athletic, Kuzma shed light on how it all went down:
“[Wizards executive Michael] 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 said that he put the brakes on a possible trade because he wanted to remain in Washington and continue to work on the team they are building in the nation's capital.
The star player is putting up 21.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game so far this season, but the Wizards are struggling and remain one of the worst teams in the entire league.
After winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Kuzma doesn't need to prove himself with another ring, although he definitely wants one. He is able to make the career choices that he feels best about. It seems that he really does believe in the team he's currently with.
That being said, the fact that the Wizards were ready to deal him away means that all eyes will be on Kuzma during the upcoming offseason to see if he moves to another destination.
No matter if he wants to or not, Kuzma may be moving away from the Wizards in a matter of months.
