The Official Kyle Kuzma Thread

[Kanyewest]

Last season it was Jordan Poole pretty easily....

Actually, no. Poole was awful, to be sure, but Kuz was only a notch less awful. & if you factor in average production at their positions, Kuz was actually worse.

I would just add that based upon ws/48 the original stat that I referenced Kuzma did have a slightly better year. However, around game 53, Jordan Poole pretty much turned his season around, and some might argue that he had a pretty good final 30 games of the season, whereas Kuzma was just bad all season long.

Kuzma actually started the season strong which is why the Mavericks were willing to trade a 1st rounder for him. Poole was so bad that he was on pace for the worst VORP in NBA history through the first 50 games of the season.

[AFM]

Trying to figure out which one of the trash brothers was worse seems like a fruitless exercise.

[leswizards]

Actually, no. Poole was awful, to be sure, but Kuz was only a notch less awful. & if you factor in average production at their positions, Kuz was actually worse.

I would just add that based upon ws/48 the original stat that I referenced Kuzma did have a slightly better year. However, around game 53, Jordan Poole pretty much turned his season around, and some might argue that he had a pretty good final 30 games of the season, whereas Kuzma was just bad all season long.

Kuzma actually started the season strong which is why the Mavericks were willing to trade a 1st rounder for him. Poole was so bad that he was on pace for the worst VORP in NBA history through the first 50 games of the season.

Other than from Kuzma and his pr people, there is actually no proof that the Mavericks offered anything for him.

[gambitx777]

I would just add that based upon ws/48 the original stat that I referenced Kuzma did have a slightly better year. However, around game 53, Jordan Poole pretty much turned his season around, and some might argue that he had a pretty good final 30 games of the season, whereas Kuzma was just bad all season long.

Kuzma actually started the season strong which is why the Mavericks were willing to trade a 1st rounder for him. Poole was so bad that he was on pace for the worst VORP in NBA history through the first 50 games of the season.

Other than from Kuzma and his pr people, there is actually no proof that the Mavericks offered anything for him.

I swear I remember shams reporting it.

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

[leswizards]

Kuzma actually started the season strong which is why the Mavericks were willing to trade a 1st rounder for him. Poole was so bad that he was on pace for the worst VORP in NBA history through the first 50 games of the season.

Other than from Kuzma and his pr people, there is actually no proof that the Mavericks offered anything for him.

I swear I remember shams reporting it.

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

I am not saying he didn’t report it. I’m saying all the evidence and quotes are directly from Kuzma and his pr people. The only quotes from wizards people are non denial denials. Ie, paraphrasing “we talked with Kuzma and made sure he was happy with the direction of the team”. They never mention the trade and what was or wasn’t offered.

[Kanyewest]

Other than from Kuzma and his pr people, there is actually no proof that the Mavericks offered anything for him.

I swear I remember shams reporting it.

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

I am not saying he didn’t report it. I’m saying all the evidence and quotes are directly from Kuzma and his pr people. The only quotes from wizards people are non denial denials. Ie, paraphrasing “we talked with Kuzma and made sure he was happy with the direction of the team”. They never mention the trade and what was or wasn’t offered.

Just from 3 days ago.
[Fischer] "Kuzma has not helped himself. It's crazy he turned down the opportunity to go to Dallas last year. That's something I'm told he wants right now."

For context, this is the GM and Kuzma quotes from last year reporting that Kuzma turned down a trade to Dallas.

GM Michael Winger:

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday. “His commitment is necessary for us to achieve our competitive and environmental objectives. Under the circumstances, I wanted to check in with his belief to continue leading us. He reemphasized his desire to forge ahead, and we’re honored to have him.”

Player Kyle Kuzma:

Asked by The Athletic why he told Winger he wanted to remain with the Wizards instead of joining the Mavericks, Kuzma answered, “In my career, I won a championship. So, I understand that when we play this game of basketball it’s not about contending for a playoff spot. It’s about contending for an NBA championship. There’s only like three or four contenders — true contenders. I just felt like our timelines didn’t line up.”

Sources:

https://player.fm/series/duncd-on-basketball-nba-podcast-108683/jake-fischer-assesses-the-2025-deadline around 14 minute mark
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5271857/2024/02/13/kyle-kuzma-wizards-mavericks-near-trade/

I think it looks bad for Kuzma's PR at the moment.

[leswizards]

For people who may not understand what I am saying regarding Kuzma and the alleged trade to the mavericks, let me try to explain what I think happened:

Step 1: Kuzma and his PR people want to create this idea that Kuzma has great value around the NBA.
Step 2: they create this bogus idea that the mavericks are willing to trade 2 first round picks for him
Step 3: reporters like this idea and want to report it, but they need to confirm it
Step 4: reporters go to the front office and inquire about the trade
Step 5: the front office is unwilling to admit how little value one of their players has, as it would only hurt their bargaining position
Step 6: front office offers a quote that seems to confirm the story but actually doesn’t. Ie never mentions any trade or what was offered, only mentions that they went to player to make sure he was on board with teams plans.
Step 7: reporters use front offices quote to “validate” their story

[Kanyewest]

For people who may not understand what I am saying regarding Kuzma and the alleged trade to the mavericks, let me try to explain what I think happened:

Step 1: Kuzma and his PR people want to create this idea that Kuzma has great value around the NBA.
Step 2: they create this bogus idea that the mavericks are willing to trade 2 first round picks for him
Step 3: reporters like this idea and want to report it, but they need to confirm it
Step 4: reporters go to the front office and inquire about the trade
Step 5: the front office is unwilling to admit how little value one of their players has, as it would only hurt their bargaining position
Step 6: front office offers a quote that seems to confirm the story but actually doesn’t. Ie never mentions any trade or what was offered, only mentions that they went to player to make sure he was on board with teams plans.
Step 7: reporters use front offices quote to “validate” their story

Fishcer is making Kuzma look stupid at the moment (as of 3 days ago). So this whole PR narrative seems illogical to me. Everyone is clowning him right now.

[leswizards]

I swear I remember shams reporting it.

Sent from my SM-S926U1 using RealGM mobile app

I am not saying he didn’t report it. I’m saying all the evidence and quotes are directly from Kuzma and his pr people. The only quotes from wizards people are non denial denials. Ie, paraphrasing “we talked with Kuzma and made sure he was happy with the direction of the team”. They never mention the trade and what was or wasn’t offered.

Just from 3 days ago.
[Fischer] "Kuzma has not helped himself. It's crazy he turned down the opportunity to go to Dallas last year. That's something I'm told he wants right now."

For context, this is the GM and Kuzma quotes from last year reporting that Kuzma turned down a trade to Dallas.

GM Michael Winger:

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday. “His commitment is necessary for us to achieve our competitive and environmental objectives. Under the circumstances, I wanted to check in with his belief to continue leading us. He reemphasized his desire to forge ahead, and we’re honored to have him.”

Player Kyle Kuzma:

Asked by The Athletic why he told Winger he wanted to remain with the Wizards instead of joining the Mavericks, Kuzma answered, “In my career, I won a championship. So, I understand that when we play this game of basketball it’s not about contending for a playoff spot. It’s about contending for an NBA championship. There’s only like three or four contenders — true contenders. I just felt like our timelines didn’t line up.”

Sources:

https://player.fm/series/duncd-on-basketball-nba-podcast-108683/jake-fischer-assesses-the-2025-deadline around 14 minute mark
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5271857/2024/02/13/kyle-kuzma-wizards-mavericks-near-trade/

I think it looks bad for Kuzma's PR at the moment.

I am not sure who Fischer is, but nowhere in that quote does the wizards front office acknowledge that they turned down a trade or that even one was on the table.

[leswizards]

For people who may not understand what I am saying regarding Kuzma and the alleged trade to the mavericks, let me try to explain what I think happened:

Step 1: Kuzma and his PR people want to create this idea that Kuzma has great value around the NBA.
Step 2: they create this bogus idea that the mavericks are willing to trade 2 first round picks for him
Step 3: reporters like this idea and want to report it, but they need to confirm it
Step 4: reporters go to the front office and inquire about the trade
Step 5: the front office is unwilling to admit how little value one of their players has, as it would only hurt their bargaining position
Step 6: front office offers a quote that seems to confirm the story but actually doesn’t. Ie never mentions any trade or what was offered, only mentions that they went to player to make sure he was on board with teams plans.
Step 7: reporters use front offices quote to “validate” their story

Fishcer is making Kuzma look stupid at the moment (as of 3 days ago). So this whole PR narrative seems illogical to me. Everyone is clowning him right now.

Again, I don’t know who this Fischer is, but probably because they got played by his bs, and they have finally seen through it.

[Kanyewest]

I am not saying he didn’t report it. I’m saying all the evidence and quotes are directly from Kuzma and his pr people. The only quotes from wizards people are non denial denials. Ie, paraphrasing “we talked with Kuzma and made sure he was happy with the direction of the team”. They never mention the trade and what was or wasn’t offered.

Just from 3 days ago.
[Fischer] "Kuzma has not helped himself. It's crazy he turned down the opportunity to go to Dallas last year. That's something I'm told he wants right now."

For context, this is the GM and Kuzma quotes from last year reporting that Kuzma turned down a trade to Dallas.

GM Michael Winger:

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday. “His commitment is necessary for us to achieve our competitive and environmental objectives. Under the circumstances, I wanted to check in with his belief to continue leading us. He reemphasized his desire to forge ahead, and we’re honored to have him.”

Player Kyle Kuzma:

Asked by The Athletic why he told Winger he wanted to remain with the Wizards instead of joining the Mavericks, Kuzma answered, “In my career, I won a championship. So, I understand that when we play this game of basketball it’s not about contending for a playoff spot. It’s about contending for an NBA championship. There’s only like three or four contenders — true contenders. I just felt like our timelines didn’t line up.”

Sources:

https://player.fm/series/duncd-on-basketball-nba-podcast-108683/jake-fischer-assesses-the-2025-deadline around 14 minute mark
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5271857/2024/02/13/kyle-kuzma-wizards-mavericks-near-trade/

I think it looks bad for Kuzma's PR at the moment.

I am not sure who Fischer is, but nowhere in that quote does the wizards front office acknowledge that they turned down a trade or that even one was on the table.

Fishcer is a NBA reporter that came from Yahoo and is now working for Marc Stein's substack. He generally is plugged into every team although he's obviously not batting 100%. Granted he is confirming independent of Robbins reporting from the Athletic that the report is accurate and has been reporting for a while that Kyle Kuzma now wants to get traded to Dallas as of 3 days ago.

You can choose to believe the NBA reporting is a conspiracy although I am tending to believe the reporting. It looked like Kuzma enjoyed being here last season and now he seems upset. Probably because people have been calling out for his political tweets and his play has gotten a lot worse since then.

[Hidden Eye]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=GWeuz7j_sc5cBYZzdD92Tw

Even the French Wiz fandom are getting the pitchforks out…

Wow

I'd really expected Kuzma to play better than Poole this season. They did the complete opposite uno reverse card.

[leswizards]

Fischer is a NBA reporter that came from Yahoo and is now working for Marc Stein's substack. He generally is plugged into every team although he's obviously not batting 100%. Granted he is confirming independent of Robbins reporting from the Athletic that the report is accurate and has been reporting for a while that Kyle Kuzma now wants to get traded to Dallas as of 3 days ago.

You can choose to believe the NBA reporting is a conspiracy although I am tending to believe the reporting. It looked like Kuzma enjoyed being here last season and now he seems upset. Probably because people have been calling out for his political tweets and his play has gotten a lot worse since then.

Again, all the quotes that you are providing from Fischer et al are coming from Kuzma and his camp. Not a single quote from either front office suggesting that the mavericks have ever made a substantial offer for Kuzma.

[Kanyewest]

Fischer is a NBA reporter that came from Yahoo and is now working for Marc Stein's substack. He generally is plugged into every team although he's obviously not batting 100%. Granted he is confirming independent of Robbins reporting from the Athletic that the report is accurate and has been reporting for a while that Kyle Kuzma now wants to get traded to Dallas as of 3 days ago.

You can choose to believe the NBA reporting is a conspiracy although I am tending to believe the reporting. It looked like Kuzma enjoyed being here last season and now he seems upset. Probably because people have been calling out for his political tweets and his play has gotten a lot worse since then.

Again, all the quotes that you are providing from Fischer et al are coming from Kuzma and his camp. Not a single quote from either front office suggesting that the mavericks have ever made a substantial offer for Kuzma.

The Athletic article has a quote from Michael Winger.

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday. “His commitment is necessary for us to achieve our competitive and environmental objectives. Under the circumstances, I wanted to check in with his belief to continue leading us. He reemphasized his desire to forge ahead, and we’re honored to have him.”

But yes no quotes from the Dallas front office that I can find.

[Kanyewest]

Dallas reporter from Sports Illustrated Austin Veazey also confirming that the Mavs were interested in Kuzma

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/washington-wizads-kyle-kuzma-stands-decision-deny-dallas-mavericks-trade-24

The Dallas Mavericks were aggressive at last year's trade deadline, realizing the roster they hadn't wasn't good enough for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They scoured the market for a forward that would fit next to them and initially landed on Kyle Kuzma on the Washington Wizards.

While the full framework of the deal was never announced, the Mavericks felt it was a strong enough offer to bring in the former champion, so Wizards executive president Michael Winger asked Kuzma if he'd like to be traded. The Wizards had won just nine games to that point, while the Mavs were a fringe playoff team. Despite that, Kuzma said no, and the Wizards called off that deal. Dallas would pivot and get Daniel Gafford from the Wizards instead to shore up their center rotation and land P.J. Washington from the Charlotte Hornets to fill their hole at forward.

[leswizards]

Fischer is a NBA reporter that came from Yahoo and is now working for Marc Stein's substack. He generally is plugged into every team although he's obviously not batting 100%. Granted he is confirming independent of Robbins reporting from the Athletic that the report is accurate and has been reporting for a while that Kyle Kuzma now wants to get traded to Dallas as of 3 days ago.

You can choose to believe the NBA reporting is a conspiracy although I am tending to believe the reporting. It looked like Kuzma enjoyed being here last season and now he seems upset. Probably because people have been calling out for his political tweets and his play has gotten a lot worse since then.

Again, all the quotes that you are providing from Fischer et al are coming from Kuzma and his camp. Not a single quote from either front office suggesting that the mavericks have ever made a substantial offer for Kuzma.

The Athletic article has a quote from Michael Winger.

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday. “His commitment is necessary for us to achieve our competitive and environmental objectives. Under the circumstances, I wanted to check in with his belief to continue leading us. He reemphasized his desire to forge ahead, and we’re honored to have him.”

But yes no quotes from the Dallas front office that I can find.

Again, that quote is a non denial denial. When asked about a trade, he never mentions the trade.

Where is the quote from the Mavericks front office saying:

“We made a damn good offer for Kyle Kuzma, because we think he could have helped us win a NBA championship. It is a shame that Washington turned down the offer, and even more embarrassing that they turned down the offer at the request of Kyle himself.”

[Kanyewest]

Again, all the quotes that you are providing from Fischer et al are coming from Kuzma and his camp. Not a single quote from either front office suggesting that the mavericks have ever made a substantial offer for Kuzma.

The Athletic article has a quote from Michael Winger.

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday. “His commitment is necessary for us to achieve our competitive and environmental objectives. Under the circumstances, I wanted to check in with his belief to continue leading us. He reemphasized his desire to forge ahead, and we’re honored to have him.”

But yes no quotes from the Dallas front office that I can find.

Again, that quote is a non denial denial. When asked about a trade, he never mentions the trade.

Where is the quote from the Mavericks front office saying:

“We made a damn good offer for Kyle Kuzma, because we think he could have helped us win a NBA championship. It is a shame that Washington turned down the offer, and even more embarrassing that they turned down the offer at the request of Kyle himself.”

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/washington-wizads-kyle-kuzma-stands-decision-deny-dallas-mavericks-trade-24

[Kanyewest]

Marc Stein who is also a Dallas Insider confirmed it and also talked to Kuzma in an interview about it in a one on one interview. Stein also cites the athletic piece in his substack.

Kuzma was the Mavericks’ top trade deadline target. The Wizards wanted two first-round picks in any Kuzma deal. When the teams’ Kuzma talks fizzled, they pivoted to a Daniel Gafford-to-Dallas trade that netted Washington a first-round pick in the upcoming June draft via Oklahoma City. The Mavericks then packaged a first-round pick in the 2027 draft to Charlotte — only top-2-protected and their lone available first-round pick to trade at the deadline — with Grant Willams and Seth Curry to acquire P.J. Washington to fill the role earmarked for Kuzma.

https://marcstein.substack.com/p/one-on-one-with-washingtons-kyle

[leswizards]

The Athletic article has a quote from Michael Winger.

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday. “His commitment is necessary for us to achieve our competitive and environmental objectives. Under the circumstances, I wanted to check in with his belief to continue leading us. He reemphasized his desire to forge ahead, and we’re honored to have him.”

But yes no quotes from the Dallas front office that I can find.

Again, that quote is a non denial denial. When asked about a trade, he never mentions the trade.

Where is the quote from the Mavericks front office saying:

“We made a damn good offer for Kyle Kuzma, because we think he could have helped us win a NBA championship. It is a shame that Washington turned down the offer, and even more embarrassing that they turned down the offer at the request of Kyle himself.”

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/washington-wizads-kyle-kuzma-stands-decision-deny-dallas-mavericks-trade-24

Okay, we are just going to have to agree to disagree. Until someone provides a quote directly from either front office actually saying that their was a substantial offer made (ie with 2 first rounders), and Kuzma was allowed to kill the offer, I simply don’t believe it happened. And it seems to me, almost every direct quote on the subject merely comes from Kuzma or his or people.

[Kanyewest]

Again, that quote is a non denial denial. When asked about a trade, he never mentions the trade.

Where is the quote from the Mavericks front office saying:

“We made a damn good offer for Kyle Kuzma, because we think he could have helped us win a NBA championship. It is a shame that Washington turned down the offer, and even more embarrassing that they turned down the offer at the request of Kyle himself.”

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/washington-wizads-kyle-kuzma-stands-decision-deny-dallas-mavericks-trade-24

Okay, we are just going to have to agree to disagree. Until someone provides a quote directly from either front office actually saying that their was a substantial offer made (ie with 2 first rounders), and Kuzma was allowed to kill the offer, I simply don’t believe it happened. And it seems to me, almost every direct quote on the subject merely comes from Kuzma or his or people.

See the above post, with Marc Stein who has been dialed in with the Mavericks front office since the Dirk years. It looks like the Wizards wanted 2 first round picks and then the talks fizzled. And that Kyle Kuzma was a top target.