WESTWOOD, Calif. — Kyle Kuzma stepped off the Washington Wizards‘ chartered airplane, some 2,700 miles West and 25 levels hotter than his new residence within the nation’s capital and could not assist however share his pleasure along with his million-plus Twitter followers.
“Nothing like getting off the airplane and that California breeze hit you,” Kuzma tweeted Thursday morning after the Wizards landed in Los Angeles.
Nothing like getting off the airplane and that California breeze hit you ?
— kuz (@kylekuzma) December 15, 2022
A few Kuzma’s contemporaries — Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young — shortly chimed in, calling shenanigans on Kuzma’s innocuous weatherman routine.
“Tampering,” Mitchell replied, with two laughing emojis. “Principally,” Younger replied to Mitchell, agreeing that Kuzma’s tweet had some not-so-subtle subtext behind it.
Their insinuation was that Kuzma — who advised the Washington Submit this week that he wouldn’t search an in-season extension with the Wizards and plans to choose out of the ultimate 12 months of his contract — wished to make it a everlasting journey.
Kuzma, they figured, was making an attempt to tip the scales to return to the Los Angeles Lakers after the purple and gold despatched him to D.C. within the Russell Westbrook deal in the summertime of 2021.
ESPN reported last month that the Lakers deliberate to develop into extra energetic on the commerce market come Dec. 15 when contracts signed through the summer season develop into eligible to be moved.
“I imply, every little thing I do will get consideration,” Kuzma advised ESPN after the Wizards’ observe at UCLA on Friday, scoffing at Mitchell and Younger’s responses. “So, it’s what it’s.”
Kuzma is definitely not asking out. His recreation has expanded in a season and a half with the Wizards, and he’s placing up career-highs in factors (21.4), discipline objective proportion (46.2%), assists (3.6) and minutes (35.0) per recreation.
However he is not a rookie on the subject of realizing how the league works. Essentially the most the Wizards can supply him is a four-year, $70 million in-season contract extension.
“It is not a wise enterprise transfer,” Kuzma mentioned. “The max I could make if I signal proper now’s $15 [million]. When you take a look at the market, that is not market value.”
When he hits the open market as an unrestricted free agent, he would qualify for a max contract of as much as 30% of a workforce’s wage cap — as much as roughly $40 million per 12 months — in line with ESPN entrance workplace insider Bobby Marks. There are 9 groups with vital projected cap room in the summertime of 2023, together with the Lakers, in line with Marks.
Whereas the Wizards have fallen on powerful instances, dropping 11 of their final 12 video games heading into their back-to-back Saturday towards the LA Clippers and Sunday towards the Lakers, they nonetheless worth the 27-year-old stretch 4 as a possible constructing block for the franchise.
“I might like to have him [in the future],” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. mentioned after observe Friday. “A man along with his skillset and skill, does so much for us on each ends. You want a man that may play up, play down so far as place. He is acquired a superb really feel of having the ability to playmake within the open flooring, play out of pick-and-rolls. He can guard 2s, 3s, and 4s; some small-ball 5s. So, to have a man like that in your workforce, it isn’t a man you wish to lose.”
Kuzma has seen trades willed into existence earlier than. He was LeBron James‘ teammate on the 2018-19 Lakers when James told ESPN in December 2018 it might be “superb” if L.A. dealt for Anthony Davis, who was then starring for the New Orleans Pelicans. Six months later, the Lakers and Pelicans made it occur.
Kuzma additionally heard how Indiana Pacers heart Myles Turner advocated for Indiana to revisit commerce talks with L.A. on an appearance on The Woj Pod with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski in October.
He’s not keen to go that far.
“I undoubtedly may [lobby for a trade],” Kuzma mentioned. “However that is very immature. I am not a extremely immature particular person. I love to do enterprise in an expert approach. So, I’d by no means do this.”
What he’ll do is lay out the playing cards as they stand now.
“I have not heard something,” he mentioned when requested a few potential commerce. “The Wizards love me. It may be actually powerful to do. Do the Lakers have something [to make a deal]?”
And he’ll converse brazenly about how a lot the Lakers imply to him, after buying and selling for him on draft night time in 2017 and serving to to develop him right into a championship participant who complemented James and Anthony Davis in 2020.
“It means every little thing to me and my profession,” Kuzma mentioned of his Laker ties. “They’re the workforce that gave me a chance to be who I’m, to offer for my household. They offered this platform that I’ve. It means every little thing on this planet.”
He mentioned he nonetheless often watches Lakers video games. “I play on the East Coast and it is 10 o’clock after I get residence and the Lakers play 40 instances a 12 months [on national television],” Kuzma mentioned. “So it is the one recreation on TV.”
And he nonetheless retains in contact with James.
“I’ve an amazing relationship with Bron,” Kuzma mentioned. “I discuss to him usually. He is at all times been like a mentor to me, somebody I’ve at all times checked out as somebody I attempt to sample my recreation after. I’ve watched him for therefore a few years and see how efficient he’s at getting others concerned and the way essential that’s. I ask him questions, no matter. He is at all times been like a giant brother to me.”
Kuzma is content material to let the method play out and revel in a pair days on the highway in L.A. away from the winter.
“The Wizards made it clear that they worth me,” Kuzma mentioned. “However on the finish of the day, this can be a enterprise. I am not naïve and a idiot. I perceive all people on this league is tradable. There’s not one untradeable particular person. So, I discovered that my first go-round [in L.A.].”
Whereas Kuzma admitted that every little thing he does attracts consideration, he did not cop to simply how energetic his function is in that occurring.
Reflecting on the telephone name he had with Lakers vp of basketball operations and common supervisor Rob Pelinka the day L.A. determined to ship him to D.C. within the Westbrook deal, Kuzma might need left a bread crumb to comply with of what is to come back.
“I used to be strolling my canine,” Kuzma mentioned. “I acquired a name from Rob and he was like, ‘Hey man, I really like you, that is simply part of the enterprise and that is by no means a ‘goodbye,’ it is at all times a ‘goodbye.'”