One of the most consequential moves of the summer for the Washington Wizards was the decision to re-sign Kyle Kuzma. The initially reported amount for Kuzma’s new contract with the Wizards was 4 years, $102 million, but new details have emerged that make that deal even more team-friendly.
According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, only $90 million of Kyle Kuzma’s new deal is guaranteed, with the rest being incentives.
Kyle Kuzma's contract with the Washington Wizards is guaranteed for $90M with $12M in incentives, bringing the total possible value to $102M, a league source told @spotrac.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 11, 2023
Kuzma's contract also descends year-to-year, starting at $25.6M in 23-24 and ending at $19.4M in 26-27.
As of now, it is not clear what these incentives are and how likely it is for Kuzma to achieve them. These incentives could be anything from a championship bonus to a three-point accuracy threshold.
This means that Kuzma’s new contract is actually for an average of $22.5 million for four years rather than the initially reported $25.5 million. This is a huge difference, making the deal more favorable for Washington. Kuzma at $25.5 million annually was more of a fair value contract while Kuzma on a $22.5 million per year deal is very good value. There aren’t too many playmaking forwards with good size who can score while playing solid defense, after all.
Perhaps the even more favorable aspect of the contract for Washington is the fact that it is descending. The Wizards have cap space now and can afford to pay Kuzma over $25 million for the 2023-24 season. However in three years, the Wizards will likely want to be a better team, so they will value their cap space more. So, Kuzma making less than $20 million a year in 2026-27 will give Washington valuable financial flexibility.
Kyle Kuzma will presumably be worth this contract with his performance, he will even likely outperform this deal. Even if he doesn’t, he will be extremely tradeable. It’s hard to imagine there won’t be teams willing to pay $21.4 million in 2025-26 or $19.4 million in 2026-27 for Kuzma, especially as the salary cap is rising.
This is brilliant work by the Washington Wizards front office. They kept a fan favorite on a great contract while getting their player paid and making him happy, without giving up financial flexibility going forward.
This type of negotiation is exactly why the Washington Wizards hired Michael Winger and Will Dawkins and how the two front-office leaders have garnered a positive reputation for themselves over the years. It’s wonderful to see them carry that strategic leadership to Washington.
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