The Washington Wizards have started the season off to one of the historically worst couple of months in franchise history.
With a 4-22 record, Washington has been rumored to be a team that may be heading towards a complete roster shakeup as a seller at the NBA Trade Deadline in February.
It's clear the team doesn't have a winning recipe on their current roster, and as the team continues to rebuild, it makes more sense for general manager Will Dawkins to offload veterans on the team to get a solid return while he can.
Furthermore, one of the most intriguing names the Wizards have to offer is veteran forward Kyle Kuzma. And while Washington wasn't enthusiastic about the idea of moving on from the wing last season, recent reports suggest that the team's mindset about the move may have shifted after their rough start to the season.
Wizards 'eager' to move on from Kuzma
The Wizards had every chance last season to offload Kuzma's contract at the trade deadline with multiple contending teams inquiring about the versatile forwards availability. In fact, the team had a deal on the table with the Dallas Mavericks when they gave the Utah product the option to stay in D.C. or be dealt to the Mavericks who eventually would make a run to the NBA Finals.
Kuzma opted to stay in Washington to "build something" with the Wizards where the front office agreed thinking he could be the leader for the team's young group this season and keep the Wiz competitive. Fast forward to now, it seems as Kuzma has done the exact opposite for the team's young group.
The 29-year-old is in the midst of his worst start in the league since entering as a rookie averaging 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while shooting 42% from field goal range, and 27.6% from beyond the arc.
As a result, the Wizards seemed to be content with cutting their losses with Kuzma and the former first round pick seems to be on the same page according to Marc Stein's recent reports.
"The rising belief league-wide is that the Wizards are eager to find a trade partner for Kuzma at some point during the next six-plus weeks ... and that Kuzma would want to depart this time with the 4-22 Wizards scarcely even trying to be competitive heading into the loaded 2025 NBA Draft."Marc Stein
With both sides content on moving on, it seems that Kuzma will be a name to monitor as the team looks to find him a new home sooner rather than later.