{"id":81881,"date":"2024-06-18T20:37:19","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T00:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=81881"},"modified":"2024-06-18T20:37:19","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T00:37:19","slug":"nba-rumors-kings-wizards-discuss-kyle-kuzma-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/18\/nba-rumors-kings-wizards-discuss-kyle-kuzma-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Rumors: West Contender to Discuss Kyle Kuzma Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards\u00a0\u201care expected to renew conversations<\/a>\u201d about forward Kyle Kuzma<\/a> this offseason, per Action Network\u2019s Matt Moore. The teams are rumored to have discussed deals surrounding Kuzma since last summer.<\/p>\n

Kings to Discuss Kyle Kuzma Trade<\/h2>\n

For the Kings, the motivation to acquire Kuzma is simple.<\/p>\n

A go-to scorer with playmaking skills, he can lighten the load for De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a> and Domantas Sabonis<\/a>. He can also do damage from the perimeter, converting 39.1 percent of his career corner 3s. As he\u2019s not the best off-ball threat, there will be some \u2018my turn, your turn\u2019 offense. Nonetheless, because of the way his passing ability can blend with Fox\u2019s growth as a 3-point shooter and Sabonis\u2019s three-level scoring, they\u2019ll be comfortable putting the ball in his hands.<\/p>\n

Zaccharie Risacher\u2019s Importance<\/h3>\n

If the Wizards end up selecting 2024 NBA Draft prospect Zaccharie Risacher<\/a>, Kuzma will likely become more attainable.<\/p>\n

Washington already has three other starting-caliber forwards in their rotation in Deni Avdija<\/a>, Corey Kispert<\/a>, and Bilal Coulibaly<\/a>. However, Risacher has their best parts of their skillset and few of their weaknesses. Furthermore, Kispert will be on the final year of his contract in 2024-25. Even more to the point, though Kispert is the most efficient 3-point threat among their forward rotation, he\u2019s also the group\u2019s worst defender. As a result, he\u2019s likely regarded as expendable, especially if they can replace him with a player who has Risacher\u2019s skillset.<\/p>\n

Lastly, the French connection is obvious. In fact, Coulibaly has already talked up his countryman and potential teammate, saying Risacher\u2019s \u201cgot a lot of talent<\/a>.\u201d If Coulibaly and Risacher are the Wizards\u2019 future wings, their defense will help lift Washington into playoff contention.<\/p>\n

The Deni Avdija Variable<\/h3>\n

None of that means that they\u2019ll trade Kuzma. However, with Avdija\u2019s growth in the back half of the 2023-24 season, he may have earned his spot as a full-time starter. After averaging 13.8 points per game prior to the All-Star Break, he averaged 17.1 points per game after it. Either mark would\u2019ve been good enough for a career-high. With increased responsibility and continued development, the Wizards may transform him into a legitimate volume scorer.<\/p>\n

What the Kings Are Offering<\/h3>\n

The Kings\u2019 proposed trade package of Harrison Barnes<\/a>, Kevin Huerter<\/a> and draft compensation won\u2019t make or break the roster, especially if they draft Risacher. However, there\u2019s no doubt Sacramento would get the best offensive player. To that point, while Kuzma averaged 22.2 points and 4.2 assists per game last season, Barnes posted 12.2 points per game and Huerter finished with less than that (10.2 points per game). Furthermore, due to Barnes\u2019 age (32), he could request a buyout to join a contender.<\/p>\n

Essentially, Huerter is the only player guaranteed to have a part in their future affairs.<\/p>\n

Kevin Huerter Helps, No Matter What<\/h3>\n

Whether Jordan Poole<\/a> is able or ready to lead the team as their point guard is still unknown. At this point, he simply appears to be more comfortable and natural in a sixth man role. Conversely, Huerter\u2019s off-ball shooting is ideal for a team that ranked 25th in 3-point percentage (.348) last season. A sharpshooter, Huerter has converted 38.2 percent of his 3s over the course of his career. Thus, he could start and dramatically improve the team\u2019s play.<\/p>\n

However, for argument\u2019s sake, say Huerter comes off the bench behind Coulibaly.<\/p>\n

A perimeter unit of Poole, Coulibaly, Risacher, and Avdija has plenty of shooting potential. Their ceiling is that much higher with Huerter coming in to spell Coulibaly, Risacher, or Avdija, who have all been streaky jump shooters throughout their basketball journey. Because of that trio\u2019s positional flexibility, Huerter can slot in as the two-guard while the other two man the forward spots. That being said, though he could start, he\u2019s a great safety net to have on the bench as well.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he helps the Wizards no matter what.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards\u00a0\u201care expected to renew conversations\u201d about forward Kyle Kuzma this offseason, per Action Network\u2019s Matt Moore. The teams are rumored to have discussed deals surrounding Kuzma since last summer. Kings to Discuss Kyle Kuzma Trade For the Kings, the motivation to acquire Kuzma is simple. A go-to scorer with playmaking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":81884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1608,62,29,4721],"tags":[4769,2831,1600,1128,98,4774,49147],"class_list":["post-81881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wizards","category-basketball","category-nba","category-kings","category-trade-rumors","tag-bilal-coulibaly","tag-deni-avdija","tag-kevin-huerter","tag-kyle-kuzma","tag-nba-draft","tag-rumors","tag-zaccharie-risacher"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}