The Washington Wizards were very active ahead of this year's NBA trade deadline last Thursday.
Washington made multiple moves, but perhaps the biggest deal that general manager pulled off was centered around the trade that sent Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson and a 2028 first-round pick swap.
Although the writing was on the wall for Kuzma to be dealt ahead of this year's deadline following his recent public comments as his frustration with the Wizards and their losing ways grew. However, following the deal to finally offload the veteran forwards contract during last Thursday's deadline, it made it clear that the team should have moved on from the Utah product sooner.
Kyle Kumza should have been traded at the 2024 deadline
Although moving on from Kuzma may have been a breath of fresh air for multiple fans, and even members of the team who had to deal with the forwards comments and frustrations over the last couple of weeks, the return in which the Wizards got is nowehere near what they could've gotten if they elected to make a deal at last year's deadline.
There's no secret that the Dallas Mavericks were in heavy pursuit of Kuzma ahead of the 2024 deadline before the Wizards ultimately let Kuzma dictate his future. The team gave the forward the choice to be dealt to the Mavericks or stay put in Washington.
Kuzma elected to stay in D.C. after he claimed the Mavericks weren't in position to contend for a championship and he felt like it was in his best interest to stay in Washington and help build towards the Wizards future. However, the playmakers' remaining time in a Wizards jersey was about as lackluster as it could have been.
The 29-year-old put together a career-year in Washington in 2023-24 averaging 22.2 points per game, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Following his breakout season, he suited up for only 30 games with the Wizards ahead of this year's deadline.
In those 30 games this season, Kuzma averaged only 15.2 points on 42% shooting from field goal range and an abysmal 28.1% from three. His inconsistency led to his value on the trade market plummeting which led to the package the Wizards ultimately landed after they moved on from him.
Considering the Mavericks heavy interest, it's safe to say their package along with interested teams in the offseason likely would have landed the Wizards a much more desirable return in any deal had they made the decision to move on from Kuzma sooner.