Wizards, Kuzma agree to four-year, $102M deal
Washington forward Kyle Kuzma has agreed on a four-year, $102 million deal to return to the Wizards, co-head of CAA Basketball Austin Brown told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday.
Kuzma just completed his second season with the Wizards averaging a career-high 21.2 points to go with 7.2 rebounds and was one of the top players on the market this summer.
Entering his seventh season in the NBA, Kuzma has turned into a well-rounded player — he was one of just 11 players last season to average at least 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. As a scorer Kuzma does most of his damage in the paint, shooting better than 70% at the rim and 48.7% on shots from 3 to 10 feet. He’s also a career 33.8% shooter from beyond the arc.
DC let’s turn this ship around!! May take time but I’m committed you guys and turning the city up!!💯💯🫶🏽
— kuz (@kylekuzma) July 1, 2023
Kuzma said before the season ended that he would consider returning to Washington, but things shifted for the franchise in the months since. General manager Tommy Sheppard was let go and the franchise hired former Clippers GM Michael Winger to be president of Monumental Sports and reshape the organization.
Winger quickly swung a deal to send Bradley Beal, the face of the franchise for the past several years, to Phoenix and acquired Jordan Poole from the Golden State Warriors. Kristaps Porzingis, the team’s other star, was sent to Boston.
Drafted by the Lakers with the No. 27 pick in the 2017 draft, Kuzma hit the ground running, averaging nearly 19 points per game in his second season before scaling his usage back when Anthony Davis joined the team. But less than two years after helping L.A. win the title as a reserve in 2020, Kuzma was sent to Washington as part of the Russell Westbrook trade.
Kuzma said his goal in free agency is to go somewhere where he can be the best version of himself.
“I’m trying to get better every year,” Kuzma said in April. “It’s not about money, I’m going to get paid regardless anywhere [I go] and here, too. It’s about can I come into work every day and be the best version of myself, can I help lead guys, can I make other players better, can I light up rooms. All those things matter when you’re trying to be successful.”
