Kyle Kuzma on Wizards season ahead, rumors and the Mavs trade that never happened
MONTREAL — It's Saturday afternoon, and the Washington Wizards have just finished their second training-camp practice at McGill University, and their fifth practice in the past five days.
Kyle Kuzma rises from a courtside chair.
A few paces away, guard Malcolm Brogdon and coach Brian Keefe are chit-chatting, perhaps breaking down the workout the team just had or talking about the Wizards' preseason opener Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors at the Bell Centre.
"Let's go over there," Kuzma says to me, pointing to a quieter area of the gym, where he and I will be able to hear each other over the din of bouncing basketballs and Brogdon and Keefe's conversation.
As he and I walk across the court, it must seem to anyone watching like some bizarre sight gag is taking place. Kuzma, who at 6-foot-10 is one of the more agile forwards in the NBA , trudges gingerly, as if cramps have overtaken both of his legs. For this fleeting moment, a middle-aged sportswriter looks more athletic than a 29-year-old who led his team in scoring last season. Aware of how bizarre this switcheroo of sorts must look, Kuzma assures me that, after five consecutive days of tough practices, he's merely super-sore.
Kuzma's Wizards won only 15 games last season, but he remained loyal. When team officials had the framework of a deal in place in February to send him to the Dallas Mavericks before the trade deadline, Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger asked Kuzma if he wanted to remain with the Wizards . Around that time, Dallas held a 28-23 record while Washington had won only nine games. Nonetheless, Kuzma told Winger he wanted to stay.
When Winger informed Dallas that he was going to hold onto Kuzma, Dallas enacted Plan B — and what an effective backup plan that was. In one trade, the Mavericks obtained shot-blocking, lob threat Daniel Gafford from the Wizards . In another deal, the Mavs brought aboard forward P.J. Washington from the Charlotte Hornets .
The Mavericks clicked after those moves. They won 22 of their final 31 regular-season games and won playoff series over the LA Clippers , Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves to reach the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Boston Celtics in five games.
Kuzma is in the second year of a four-year contract worth a total of $90 million in guaranteed money, and with the Wizards rebuilding, he's already being mentioned as a potential trade candidate in the season ahead.
Kuzma and I take seats on a red cushion that's usually used as padding around a basketball hoop stanchion and begin to talk about the Wizards' direction, his philanthropic passion project off the court, what it's like to deal with trade rumors and whether he has any regrets about not being traded to Dallas.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Going into this season, how are you feeling about the franchise's direction?
I think it's going in the right direction. I'm optimistic about that just because I know where we are as a group. The front office said it best , maybe weeks ago, talking about how this is like Year 0 of a rebuild. Remember that quote?
Something along those lines.
Where we're laying a foundation of how we want to play, how we want to be perceived on the court, what kind of team you're going to get when you play the Wizards. I see that vision. I'm optimistic of that trajectory, regardless of whatever our record is.
Is it tough to remain patient?
No, because I feel like I go off my own timeline and I don't really listen to what other folks say.
It's interesting that you put it that way. Because you're a visible guy who won a title, who played for the most glamorous team in the league, there's more attention on you. I think that's one reason there's all that interest in you, like, "How could he be patient if he's used to playing for titles?"
I wouldn't say I'm used to playing for titles. There was really two years where it was, "We're going to play for a title." In my career, that was the third year and running it back that fourth year. The first year in L.A., there wasn't really title talk. The second year, when ( LeBron James ) first came to the Lakers , there wasn't really title talk. Then I went here, and there hasn't been title talk.
I feel like I'm patient in moving at my pace, and I'm not worried about what other people say. Other people will say, "You should be on a winning team. You need to get out of there." I don't believe that, because I don't think people know what I can do. And what if we start winning here? Then it's a whole different narrative.
What was the most impactful thing you did this past offseason?
The most impactful was when we raised almost a million dollars with my golf tournament for single mothers and underprivileged kids . I think that was the most impactful thing, for sure, just being able to help a lot of people out. I'm very much of a philanthropist, and being able to help people is important. People that don't have that cushion in life, we can help out a bit.
Why is it so important to you to help single mothers and their kids?
I'm very grateful to know where I'm at. From where I come from, I understand what it means to come from hard times, hard beginnings, humble beginnings. So, I never really want to forget that.
How much more meaningful is it to do that work alongside your mom?
Oh, it's a blast. I get to talk to my mom a little bit more, you know? To get random texts from my mom from a business perspective or a helping perspective is pretty fun. It's definitely just a different layer of our relationship. I feel like a lot of people probably never really get to work with their parents unless you're a nepo baby.
The last time you and I did one of these one-on-one sitdowns, I asked you about last season's trade deadline a few days after it ended. What was it like for you since then to see Dallas reach the NBA Finals?
They played hella basketball. Like, great ball. They were an interesting group all year. When you looked at them right before the trade deadline, they were a team that didn't really know who they were. You could see by adding another center to play extended minutes, Daniel Gafford , and to add another forward really helped them get over some type of hump. So, it was interesting, because I don't think anybody thought they were a contending type of team at the middle (of the season). I don't think anybody necessarily wrote them in at that time as somebody that was going to be in the finals.
When they made that jump, did you ever look back and have regrets that, when Michael Winger approached you, you said, "Hey, I want to stay here in Washington"?
Absolutely not. A big part of the Mavericks becoming who they were was getting an extra center and a forward. If I would've went there, that wouldn't have happened, getting two impact players. And when you look at who won the championship, it wasn't a team with (just) three or four players; it was a team with six or seven really good players: Jaylen Brown , Jayson Tatum , Derrick White , Jrue Holiday , Kristaps Porziņģis , Al Horford . They had some players. So you need more players (to win big and getting two at the deadline helped the Mavericks).
You went to Asia this offseason. What was the coolest place that you went to?
Oh, Manila. Not even close. Manila was insane.
How so?
I had a Q&A at a mall, the biggest mall in the Philippines. I landed and went straight to my event. The event was only going to be for an hour, and there were 7,000 people there. Seven-thousand people. Yeah, it was incredible. It was insane. The love for basketball there, I've never seen anything like it.
What are you looking to build on this season?
Build on my playmaking. That's my biggest thing: making others better. That's just going to serve me for the rest of my career, being on the court and being able to get others involved and think the game. That's just going to add more and more longevity to my career and make me a more enticing player.
How do you prepare mentally for what will be incessant trade speculation about where you'll play in the future — a decision that might not be left up to you?
I've been in trade rumors for eight years. This is my eighth year in the NBA. So, like I said, I don't really listen (to that). I see. I don't listen. I don't really care too much about the opinions of others, and I think that's the reason I've always been so good in my career. You see a lot of times when players get into trade talks, it affects their games. But it really doesn't matter at the end of the day. One, it's a business. Two, everybody in the NBA is tradable, except for ( Victor Wembanyama ). And I'd still be playing basketball if I get traded, so why would I be thinking about anything other than trying to put the ball in the hoop?
From one of your tweets I see that you're now able to drive almost anywhere in D.C. and know where you're going?
Yes, almost!
What part of the city have you discovered recently that you enjoy?
I really enjoy the area around American University. That's a really nice area, the Northwest side. I go to the Northeast side a little bit because there are cool lounges for music. Alexandria's an interesting place, too.
(Top photo: Reggie Hildred / USA Today)
