By Jordan Long
NBA free agency starts on June 30th. Teams will look to improve their team. A player who could be high on that list is small forward Kyle Kuzma. He declined his $13 million player option to test free agency.
Kuzma finished his 6th season in the NBA and second with the Washington Wizards. This past year, Kuzma started in 64 games for the Wizards. In those contests, he scored 21.2 points per game while dishing out 3.7 assists. He shot fairly well from the 3-point line, nailing 33.3% of his shots. Even with Kuzma, Washington failed to earn a playoff spot, going 35-47.
Kuzma knows it was his decision to opt-out of his deal. According to ESPN.com, Kuzma said, “It’s 100 percent an option. … I’ve had a great time here. I’ve developed my game significantly here, and there’s good people here. I’d be a fool to say it’s not an option for me.”
There are going to be plenty of franchises interested in Kuzma because of his NBA experience. In the regular season, he appeared in 406 games scoring 16.5 points. Kuzma is a shooter who can make the 3-point shots. He is a career 33.8% shooter from the 3-point line. Those would enhance a team’s chances to earn a playoff spot.
When it comes to the postseason, Kuzma has played 27 games, all with the Lakers. The Lakers went to the postseason in 2020 and 2021. The Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020. In those contests, Kuzma averaged 22.7 minutes scoring 9.1 points per game. At least that is playoff and championship experience which is difficult for a franchise to find in free agency.
Kuzma will let free agency dictate where he goes. It comes down to money. A team may pay top dollar for Kuzma. He is one of the top small forwards in free agency. Kuzma wants to help a team win with the goal of an NBA championship.
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