Kyle Kuzma Doesn't Regret Declining Trade To The Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks were interested in acquiring Kyle Kuzma before last season's trade deadline, but the forward surprisingly turned down the move. Kuzma then had to watch the Mavericks make it all the way to the NBA Finals and Josh Robbins of The Athletic asked him during a recent interview if he regrets that decision now.

"Absolutely not. A big part of the Mavericks becoming who they were was getting an extra center and a forward. If I would’ve went there, that wouldn’t have happened, getting two impact players. And when you look at who won the championship, it wasn’t a team with (just) three or four players; it was a team with six or seven really good players: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford. They had some players. So you need more players (to win big and getting two at the deadline helped the Mavericks)."

Kuzma made some good points there. His turning down the Mavericks led to them deciding to acquire Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, and I'm not sure they'd have made it to the Finals without those two.

Do I think Kuzma is a better player than Gafford and Washington? Yes, but they filled more pressing needs for the team. The Mavericks were not a great defensive team before the deadline and weren't great on the glass either, but Gafford and Washington helped change that.

The Mavericks were fifth in defensive rating in the playoffs at 110.7 and ranked third in rebounds per game with 43.1. Those were big reasons why they made it as far as they did. 

If the Mavericks had acquired Kuzma and in turn failed to get Gafford and Washington, those issues on defense would have persisted. While he would have given them a more consistent scoring option, I think those defensive frailties would have proven to be their downfall in one of the earlier rounds.

So, I don't believe Kuzma is wrong to think that he did not miss out on a trip to the Finals by declining that trade. The 29-year-old also stated during that interview that no one really had the Mavericks as a serious title contender when he turned them down, which is true.

The Mavericks had a 26-23 record about a week before the deadline and, at the time, it seemed like another disappointing season might be on the cards for them. So, this wasn't really a case of a player turning down an opportunity to join a team that seemed destined to make the Finals.

That said, I think Kuzma did make a mistake by turning down the move as being on the Mavericks would have been far better than being on the Washington Wizards. 

Kyle Kuzma's Wizards Are Expected To Have Another Torrid Season

The 2023-24 season was the best of Kuzma's career, as he averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. Despite his efforts, though, the Wizards finished with a woeful 15-67 record and I don't see things getting a whole lot better for them in 2024-25.

The Wizards have made some decent additions this offseason, like Jonas Valanciunas, Alex Sarr, and Bub Carrington, but they're still going to be near the bottom of the pile in the Eastern Conference. Unless Sarr, the second pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, turns out to be a superstar, I'd expect them to stay near the bottom for the next few years as well.

Kuzma is absolutely wasting the best years of his career with the Wizards. If he gets another opportunity to leave them for a better team this upcoming season, I hope he takes it.