PHOENIX — Kyle Kuzma just added some intrigue to the Washington Wizards’ relatively placid season. On Saturday, minutes after his best all-around game this season, and with the NBA trade deadline looming on Feb. 6, Kuzma said he intends to be more assertive and indicated he’ll be less likely to try to fit into the franchise’s plan to develop its youngsters.
Kuzma made his comments after the Wizards lost to the Phoenix Suns 119-109. He scored a season-high 30 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field, tied a season-high with 11 rebounds and also added four assists.
“I think today I just decided to be myself and not really just try to fit into everything that we’re doing here, and just really played in the moment,” Kuzma said. “I think my mom helped me out with that. I saw her today.”
Asked immediately what he meant by playing in the moment and not trying to fit in, Kuzma answered, “I mean just not trying to fit into what we’re trying to do here. Just being more assertive, demanding the ball, not just going out there and trying to let people develop. Just playing my game.”
Kuzma, 29, has endured the roughest season of his four-year Wizards tenure. Injuries have been a large part of the reason for his struggles. He missed five games early in the season because of a groin strain and later missed an entire month because he sprained rib cartilage. He’s only recently begun to regain his rhythm.
But his difficulties go further than injuries. With the Wizards in the early stages of a rebuild, team officials have prioritized developing the young nucleus of second-year swingman Bilal Coulibaly and rookies Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington and Kyshawn George.
Coulibaly, Sarr, Carrington and George have played heavy minutes and been given the green light to take good shots. In addition, guard Jordan Poole and Coulibaly have been assigned some of the ballhandling duties that often went to Kuzma during his first three seasons with Washington.
Kuzma entered Saturday averaging 14.0 points, 2.6 assists and 13.3 field-goal attempts per game, his lowest averages since he was a role player as a member of the 2020-21 defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.
While the diminished role hasn’t been easy, it’s been made doubly difficult because of the Wizards’ on-court struggles as a team. With its loss Saturday, Washington dropped to 6-38, which is by far the league’s worst record. The Utah Jazz have the NBA’s next-worst record, at 10-33.
Wizards coach Brian Keefe, in his postgame question-and-answer session with reporters, indicated he was pleased with how Kuzma played against the Suns. Asked about Kuzma’s performance, Keefe responded: “I think he’s just still getting his rhythm. (Reporters and I) talked about this maybe a week ago. He didn’t really have much of a chance to train with all the ins and outs of the lineup this year. This is who he is. We all know that. This is what he’s capable of. I think he’s just finding his rhythm, his energy, his conditioning, all the timing things. I think he’s just coming into his own. So, this is what we expect from him.”
Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 30 points in the Wizards’ loss Saturday in Phoenix. (Aryanna Frank / Imagn Images)
Keefe made those comments before Kuzma spoke to reporters.
It should be noted that Washington’s young players still played heavy minutes Saturday and still took plenty of shots, despite Kuzma’s 24 field-goal attempts. Sarr went 4 of 12 from the field, Carrington 4 of 9, Coulibaly 5 of 8 and George 2 of 5.
Meanwhile, the Wizards played one of their more competitive games in weeks.
“I think I’ve tried to fit in,” Kuzma said when he was asked whether he’s been “holding back” this season. “I think I’ve tried to help the young guys build confidence and do their thing. I think today I was just really the most assertive I’ve been all year.”
Does Kuzma feel like being aggressive and trying to help the young players are at odds sometimes?
“Sometimes,” he answered. “Sometimes, only because there’s certain positions on the floor where we run plays. Probably (in) past years, I might have been in those, you know?”
All this adds an interesting wrinkle to the Wizards’ trade deliberations before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Last season, Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger had a concrete trade offer on the table from the Dallas Mavericks, but Winger felt lukewarm about it. At that time, Winger asked Kuzma if he wanted to be traded, and Kuzma said he preferred to remain with the Wizards. Winger wound up declining the Mavericks’ trade offer.
But all indications are that Kuzma is less patient now with the Wizards’ direction. Asked last weekend how he would respond if Winger approaches him before Feb. 6 about a potential trade, Kuzma answered, “We’ll see how it goes. I don’t know. I didn’t think last year was the right time (for a trade) after signing the deal (a four-year contract in 2023). That was kind of more of a last-year thing. I haven’t had conversations (with Wizards management). I haven’t even talked about the deadline, haven’t talked about being traded. So, this is really the first time I’m really talking about it.”
Kuzma’s injuries and struggles this season, albeit in a less ball-dominant role, may have lowered his trade value leaguewide. Still, his contract features descending year-by-year guaranteed salaries that would make him a less risky acquisition for title contenders. He’s earning $23.5 million this season, followed by a salary of $21.5 million in 2025-26 and a salary of $19.4 million in 2026-27, which is the final year of his deal.
Kuzma made it clear he intends to be more assertive on the court from this point on.
Asked whether he hopes to be more aggressive or more passive the rest of this season, Kuzma paused for a moment.
Finally, he said, “aggressive. Yeah, aggressive now.”
(Top photo of Kyle Kuzma and Mason Plumlee: Aryanna Frank / Imagn Images)
