Moderators: LyricalRico, nate33, montestewart
payitforward wrote:pcbothwel wrote:...Kuz is having his best year ....
Just a side comment -- Kuz is certainly NOT having his best year. & it's not even close. He isn't nearly as good as he was last year. & last year he wasn't quite as good as he was his last year in LA.
Kuz is a well-below average scorer for a 4. This year, his TS% is a little bit up from last year -- from .546 to .551. That's on @ a 15% jump in usage.
Before you respond, "that's good," please recall that the average this year for an NBA 4 is .587. That's average, not good.
Good only starts when you're better than average. & when a guy who is below average shoots more, he is hurting your team's chances to win game. Hurting not helping. Compared to an average player at his position, he lowers the teams chance of turning a possession into points.
Then there is the other half -- actually getting possessions & taking them to the point where you actually get a chance to score (i.e. take a shot).
In this too, Kuz is way worse than an average 4. Add up his steals & offensive boards & subtract his turnovers. The result per 40 minutes is -1.33. The average 40 minute result for an NBA PF this year is +.75.
In both these areas, Kuz was better last year than this.
Some random troll wrote:Not to sound negative, but this team is owned by an arrogant cheapskate, managed by a moron and coached by an idiot. Recipe for disaster.
Benjammin wrote:Kuz is good enough to just lose with, but he looks good doing it and seems like a nice guy. That's good enough for the Wizards to re-sign him to a big deal and keep their "big 3" together.
The smart thing to do would be to trade him. IMO I like him but if he doesn't want an extension then move on.FAH1223 wrote:
Kuz says he isn’t asking out and that asking for trades is very immature. Says he knows the Wizards highly value him and that him opting out is the smart business decision as he is worth more than $15M per season on the market.
Wes says he wants to keep Kuz, obviously.
gambitx777 wrote:The smart thing to do would be to trade him. IMO I like him but if he doesn't want an extension then move on.FAH1223 wrote:
Kuz says he isn’t asking out and that asking for trades is very immature. Says he knows the Wizards highly value him and that him opting out is the smart business decision as he is worth more than $15M per season on the market.
Wes says he wants to keep Kuz, obviously.
Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app
Indeed, the rules for veteran-player contract extensions set forth in the collective bargaining agreement along with Kuzma’s current salary make it wholly unrealistic for the sides to reach an extension.
The collective bargaining agreement allows a team to extend a veteran player’s contract, of course, but it also places limits on the starting salary in the first year of the extension. In Kuzma’s case, the highest beginning salary in the first season of an extension would be 120 percent of his salary in the final year of his current contract.
Since Kuzma’s contract calls for him to earn $13 million this season and includes a player option worth $13 million for the 2023-24 season, the highest beginning salary Kuzma could receive in the first season of a Wizards extension would be $15.6 million.
Kuzma then would be allowed to receive annual raises of up to 8 percent of his first-year salary (in his case, raises of approximately $1.25 million per year). That would mean the most money he could earn in a four-year extension would be a total of $69.9 million, as outlined below.
What a Kuzma extension would look like
SEASON SALARY
2023-24
$15,600,000
2024-25
$16,848,000
2025-26
$18,096,000
2026-27
$19,344,000
Total
$69,888,000
If Kuzma declines his player option for 2023-24 — as he almost certainly will — he would enter unrestricted free agency and would be able to sign a new deal in which his first-year salary could be worth up to 25 percent of the salary cap.
Some rival executives believe Kuzma would command between $20 million to $25 million per season in a new free-agent deal, The Athletic reported early last week. If those estimates are accurate, a new four-year deal for Kuzma could be worth between $80 million and $100 million — much higher dollar amounts than an extension.
FAH1223 wrote:
leswizards wrote:Last year, the wizards were 35-47, and Kyle Kuzma was 2nd in mpg and total minutes played. This year, they are 12-20, and he is first in mpg, and total minutes played. What anybody sees in this guy to justify their belief that he is good is beyond me. In fact, Wes jr’s obsession with keeping this guy on the court is the single biggest reason that the Wizards don’t have a better record the past 2 seasons.
leswizards wrote:Last year, the wizards were 35-47, and Kyle Kuzma was 2nd in mpg and total minutes played. This year, they are 12-20, and he is first in mpg, and total minutes played. What anybody sees in this guy to justify their belief that he is good is beyond me. In fact, Wes jr’s obsession with keeping this guy on the court is the single biggest reason that the Wizards don’t have a better record the past 2 seasons.
