
Kyle Kuzma was one of the hottest names around heading into the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline.
As recently as just a few days before the deadline, three teams expressed very serious interest in acquiring him.
That said, one squad seemed to have more interest than most: the Dallas Mavericks.
For a while, it seemed as though Kuzma-to-Dallas was a done deal. But then the NBA Trade Deadline came and went without him getting moved.
On Monday, prior to the Washington Wizards’ 112-104 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, Kuzma explained that the decision to remain with the organization was ultimately his.
“There was a point in time, Dallas, they definitely did want me,” Kuzma said in an interview with The Athletic.
“[Wizards team president Michael] Winger presented me with what the trade was and obviously didn’t want to trade me and kind of left the decision up to me a little bit and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to stay and continue to build something. And that was kind of the end of it.”
To be fair, according to some NBA insiders that isn’t quite the only roadblock that scuttled a potential Kuzma-to-Dallas trade.
Kuzma is an interesting character. He is a very talented basketball player on the court, as evidenced by his career-high stats this season.
But in addition to that, he is also a very marketable personality off the court.
There is a reason why Kuzma’s intimate photos with his girlfriend, Winnie Harlow, nearly melted the internet recently.
The only question as it pertains to Kuzma is how much he actually wants to win. Obviously he got his chip with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, but he hasn’t really shown a burning desire to land with a contender since then.
DeMarcus Cousins Being Linked To 2 NBA Teams: https://t.co/9H0z3kNAW7
— Game 7 (@game7__) February 13, 2024
When given the opportunity to sign elsewhere over the summer, he opted to take the cash and stay with the Wizards.
At the trade deadline, when a number of contenders kicked the tires on a trade involving him, he once again opted to remain with Washington.
One way or another, it will be interesting to see what sort of career Kuzma has going forward.
Related: DeMarcus Cousins Being Linked To 2 NBA Teams

A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.