NBA trade rumors: Wizards seems to be keeping Kyle Kuzma ahead of deadline

As the Washington Wizards start to lower their trade price for Tyus Jones, the franchise seems to be keeping Kyle Kuzma ahead of the trade deadline. According to Marc Stein via his substack, the Wizards are telling interested squads that they are keeping Kyle Kuzma ahead of the trade deadline.

Many contenders including the Dallas Mavericks have coveted Kuzma but Washington had been looking for two first-round picks. The front office recently lowered their price for the star but couldn't find a good enough deal that they liked. The Wizards are heading toward a giant rebuild with the squad nowhere near competing for the title much less than the playoffs. With all of this in mind, did the Wizards do the right in possibly keeping Kyle Kuzma?

Did the Wizards do the right thing in keeping Kyle Kuzma?

The Wizards are a franchise that hasn't even managed to win 10 games this season much less have a chance to make the playoffs. Kuzma is an aging veteran in this league who will continue to lose value as he heads into his 30s. While the offers for the offensive wing might have not been ideal, the squad has no use for Kuzma behind marketing materials and making sure there are people in seats.

The only thing working in the Wizards' favor of keeping Kuzma is the fact that his contract goes down every season. Assuming that the wing dips in production as he gets older, less franchises would have been unwilling to take on his contract if he got raises every season. This is not the case with Kuzma and the franchise clearly has a way to get assets for Kuzma if they choose to trade later on.

Still, this is a franchise that has only won nine games this season and should have looked to trade Kuzma even if the offers were a bit low. No matter what happens, the Wizards may not be selling the entire squad as previously reported.