Mavs Next Move: Kyle Kuzma Sign-&-Trade with Wizards?
After making quite a bit of noise in Thursday’s NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks have a chance to do it again when free agency begins in six days from now.
"I can’t allow myself to take a deep breath and pat ourselves on the back and all that," Mavs GM Nico Harrison said. "No, it’s go time. We’re not done at all ... This is just the beginning”
With that being said, what could the Mavs’ next big move be? Perhaps a sign-and-trade for Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is the answer.
"The Jazz and Mavericks are among the teams known to have interest in Kuzma, with the Jazz said to be one of the few teams willing to put up big money in various talks early on," Action Network’s Matt Moore reported this week.
Kuzma, who is declining his $13 million player option with the Wizards to become an unrestricted free agent, is rumored to be seeking a contract in the ballpark of $30 million per year. Hypothetically, if the Mavs offered Kuzma a four-year, $100 million deal, and he decides that’s enough money in addition to playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, here’s what a sign-and-trade with the Wizards could look like.
Mavs receive: Kyle Kuzma
Wizards receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale McGee, 2027 first-round pick (lottery protected)
If that seems lopsided in the Mavs’ favor, it’s because it is. But when an unrestricted free agent wants to go to a new team, the incumbent team can either decide to get what they can or potentially lose the player for nothing. If Kuzma wants to play in Dallas, he and the Mavs will make sure he plays in Dallas.
Kuzma is coming off a career-best year where he averaged 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 64 games for the Wizards. That kind of production at the power-forward position would be a shot in the arm for the Mavs’ starting lineup.
The Mavs had a bottom-five defense last season, and they made it a point to address that need in the draft by acquiring Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. Although Kuzma is a great offensive player, he uses his versatility on defense well too, and his addition to the Mavs’ roster would bolster the need that they’ve already started to address.
After trading Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns and Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics, the Wizards are in full rebuild mode. Kuzma is just now entering his prime at 27 years old, and it doesn’t make much sense for him to stick around for that rebuild.
This, unlike the many pipe-dream scenarios we like to play around with at DallasBasketball.com, is a move the Mavs can realistically make when free agency opens on June 30. We’ll just have to see if Kuzma likes what Dallas has to offer.
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