Pacers Rumors: Indiana 'Linked' to $23M Former NBA Champion Ahead of Trade Deadline

Indiana could use the help.

Feb 1, 2022; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA: Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) in the second half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers number among the clubs that are apparently interested in trading to acquire Washington Wizards combo forward Kyle Kuzma, ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reports.

“Believe it or not, Kuzma actually holds a strong market as a secondary player who has proven to be able to lead his team's offensive attack at times. The [Golden State] Warriors, Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, and Detroit Pistons have all been linked to Kuzma recently, sources said,” writes Siegel.

Indiana sure could use the help. At 10-15, the Pacers don't look anything like the 47-35 squad that finished the 2023-24 season as the league's No. 6 seed, before advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Kuzma, 29, is currently in the second season of a declining four-year, $90 million contract he inked with Washington in the summer of 2023, after being first traded there by the Los Angeles Lakers as part of their ill-fated 2021 Russell Westbrook deal. Kuzma won a championship with Los Angeles in 2019-20 as a multifaceted key reserve. Kuzma is earning $23.5 million for 2024-25, a fairly reasonable sum for a quality starter.

Across 12 healthy games for the league-worst 3-19 Wizards this season, the 6-foot-9 Utah product is averaging 15.8 points on .420/.276/.688 shooting splits, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists a night. He's a slightly below-average 3-point shooter for his career, but his 33.6 percent shooting rate on 5.9 triple tries per game is at least within the range of the league average.

Though it's one of the fastest clubs in the league (its 102.8 pace ranks fourth among the league's 30 franchises), Washington is also one of the most infrequent scorers in the NBA. The Wizards' 107.6 points per game rank 26th, while their atrocious defense allows a league-worst 123.8 opponent points per bout.

It's unclear exactly what a package for Kuzma's services would look like from the Pacers. Certainly, his speedier offense would fit in better than current starting power forward Pascal Siakam's, though Siakam, currently on a $42.2 million contract, is a far better defensive player and has been Indiana's leading scorer this year. A deal centered around mid-sized contracts like oft-injured wing Aaron Nesmith's $11 million contract, veteran point guard T.J. McConnell's $9.3 million deal, and reserve forward Jarace Walker's $6.4 million contract would work. The Pacers could throw in a lottery-protected first round pick and a second rounder or two for good measure.

Given the upside of Nesmith and the cost efficiency of his and McConnell's agreements, both those players could likely be flipped to other teams later for the Wizards, which would give them additional draft assets.

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