Sacramento Kings' Interest in Kyle Kuzma Trade Has 'Picked Back Up' This Summer

The Wizards forward averaged 22.2 points per game last season.

Mar 21, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) drives to the basket as Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) defends / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings nearly landed Kyle Kuzma back in 2021 in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. Kuzma, famously, ended up going to the Washington Wizards instead as part of L.A.'s package for Russell Westbrook. That didn't work out so well for the Lakers but it worked out fine for Kuzma, who averaged north of 20 points per game in each of the last two seasons with the Wiz and signed a four-year, $90 million deal in the meantime.

Three years later, the Kings are once again interested in Kuzma. Really, their interest never faded. But the current state of the roster means their interest is heightened once more, according to Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

While discussing what Sacramento might do with the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the two reporters noted GM Monte McNair (who tried to pull off the initial trade for Kuzma three years ago) has always "maintained a varying level of interest in trading for Kuzma," but that interest "has picked back up to some degree this summer."

As portrayed in the piece, it should come as little surprise Sacramento wants Kuzma. His skillset and contract combination should be appealing to pretty much every team in the league, in fact. The 28-year-old averaged 22.2 points per game on 46.7% shooting from the floor, including 33.6% from deep on 6.4 attempts per contest. Those aren't fantastic percentages but they were better across the board when Kuzma last played for a winning team instead of the lottery-bound Wizards; the hope would be his efficiency rises with a smaller role.

In addition, Kuzma is making $23 million this upcoming season and his salary declines over the following two years of his deal. If he can defend at about the level he did during the Lakers' championship run in the bubble playoffs, it's a very reasonable contract for a quality three-and-D role player.

The Kings are in need of such players. They have their cornerstones in De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, a pair good enough to win 40-50 games annually. But a roster built around those two has its flaws. In particular, Sabonis' shortcomings defensively means the Kings need to find as many point-of-attack defenders as possible. They've got a few good ones already in Keegan Murray and Davion Mitchell, but they need more, and Kuzma definitely qualifies.

Sacramento has already been active this offseason, inking Malik Monk to a four-year deal worth $77 million last week. Wednesday's NBA draft will be a turning point. If the Kings can move their lottery pick, then a Kuzma trade is definitely in the cards. If not, they don't have many other assets to part with.

One of the many fascinating trade possibilities to keep an eye on as the offseason shifts into gear.