There’s a rising belief around the NBA that Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma will be “gettable” prior to this season’s trade deadline, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.
Based on the whispers he has heard, Stein has a hard time envisioning Kuzma wanting to remain in D.C. beyond this season. If the Wizards have heard those same rumblings and consider them credible, it would make sense for the club to recoup some value for the standout forward on the trade market rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.
Kuzma is enjoying a career year in his second full season with the Wizards, averaging 21.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 3.5 APG in his first 33 games (35.4 MPG). He has a $13MM player option for 2023/24, but has already indicated that he plans to decline it to become an unrestricted free agent.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The penalties the NBA has handed out for tampering and free agency gun jumping have been widely regarded as toothless, Stein writes. “If second-round picks are the only punishment,” one general manager said, “nothing will ever change.” As Stein observes, the NBA made a show of instituting more punitive anti-tampering rules in 2019, but hasn’t taken full advantage of those new measures, including the ability to fine teams up to $10MM for instances of “egregious” tampering.
- There’s has been increased chatter about the possibility that Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is open to selling his share of the franchise, Stein writes. Lasry and Wes Edens have been the team’s primary owners since 2014.
- Although it seems unlikely that the Rockets would welcome a reunion with James Harden, given how his last stint with the franchise ended, Stein notes that Houston’s rebuild has progressed slowly so far and says team owner Tilman Fertitta is widely believed to be “antsy” to accelerate the process and return to contention. If that’s true, the Rockets could be in the market for veteran help with their cap room next summer even if Harden doesn’t return.
- The “consistent signals emanating from Dallas” in the early part of this season have suggested that a contract extension for Christian Wood is unlikely, according to Stein. Still, he points out that the Mavericks big man has been playing well as of late and had some encouraging moments on defense without needing to play alongside Maxi Kleber.
No team has tampered enough to warrent more than a second round pick and id argue thats still too much. These are grown adults. They will go ultimately to where they want to go. Regardless if the Knicks and Sixers followed the rules these players would have still talked to these teams first because of familiarity. Corporations do this constantly. I don’t think teams having good relationships with people should be penalized. That’s literally why you hire good GMs.
I agree with you completely. Why does it matter when you talk to a potential signee? Seems so weird that it’s illegal to talk to a guy at 11:59pm on a specific date, but wait two minutes and all of a sudden it’s fine. Seems like there would be matters far more important for the league to give attention to…
Wood necesita mas tiempo y que pudieran conseguir a Bamba y darle mas juego a Green
Bulls would be happy to swap some of their veterans for almost any Houston youngsters after last nights game I think.
Kuzma to NYK + 1st picks is a nice return
Even if they have to take on Evan Fournier?
Washington needs to make a trade for a PG. Colby White in Chicago would be good to get. Morris is a six man not a true PG. Wright is probably 25 if that as a starting PG.
Fred VV
Houston has the second youngest roster in the league, and will be the youngest when the finally trade EG. They need time. Jabari will be fine and Jalen is already showing what he was supposed to be, someone who can lead the league in scoring. They also have another high pick coming this offseason.
If I were WSH, losing Kuzma for “nothing” would frighten me less than the prospect of resigning him for 100 mm/ 4 years, which is what it might take to keep him off a UFA market devoid of quality players under 30 years old. The market for him pre-deadline is likely (rationally) small, encompassing just contenders. If they can get a 1st (protected or not) plus an expiring deal, they should jump on it.
Of course, WSH being WSH, I think they’ll more likely try to get a player that can help them now in return, even with their record as it is. I can’t remember WSH ever trading a productive player for a draft asset(s) mid-season, and few teams have had more instances where it would have made sense.
Ahh the hell of being a first round exit team if that. So deeply mediocre you can’t win or win at losing.
Kuzma is the type of role player who could be easily overpaid in this market…
He will be, and that’s exactly why WSH would be smart to cut bait and get something more economical in return ASAP.
If one dimensional players like Poole and Herro can get north of $30 million then an all around guy like Kuzma should get comparable compensation.
Tampering and “jumping the gun on free agency” are two entirely different things. The two cases this year were going to become free agents in a week regardless. No actual harm was done to anyone. It’s not like they took lesser offers to leave. It was just a procedural violation. I don’t even know what the point of the moratorium is.
Actual tampering should be punished severely, but I would only define that as when a player is actively playing for or negotiating with their own team already. If it happens months before free agency AND causes the player to not sign an extension or causes the player to hold out for a trade. That would be tampering, imo.
The league has distinguished jumping the gun on FA negotiations from the more traditional notions of tampering (which involve a team having discussions with a player under contract with another team). But, until recently, the league has used the term tampering to refer to both. The distinction they have made is in who they’ve considered the aggrieved party. In traditional tampering, that would be the player’s then current team. In jumping the gun it’s the league generally.
Who’s harmed? The teams that waited (or were waiting) until the start date to make their initial bid on the player. The dummies that thought the rule on the start of bidding was actually a real rule. One could argue that its the existence of the rule, more than the violation of it, that harms these teams. In any event, the league needs to clean this up. Set a start date for all teams, identify what type of contact is a violation and set a punishment that fits the violation, namely vitiating the contract reducing the team’s FA rights in coming years.
Kuzma running his mouth is a big mistake. So say he gets traded to a contender, what’s the most likely outcome? He goes back to being LAL 3rd or 4th fiddle Kuzma. He’s putting together a good year in Washington and that would be the best route to a pay day, balling out.