Kyle Kuzma is back with the Washington Wizards, Reporting by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Kuzma, after turning down a player option with the Washington Wizards and entering free agency, has agreed to join the team on a four-year, $102 million deal, his agent told Wojnarowski.
Although the Wizards struggled and missed the playoffs the two seasons Kuzma was there, he is coming off the best season of his career. Kuzma averaged a career-high 21.2 points per game, shot nearly 45% from the field, and added 7.2 rebounds and a career-high 3.7 assists per game.
Kuzma was one of the best forwards available in free agency this summer, and he generated a lot of interest. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Sacramento Kings were eyeing Kuzma again after failing to land him in 2021. He had also been linked to the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
Kuzma signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Wizards earlier this spring, a deal he first signed with the Los Angeles Lakers – who traded him out of the Brooklyn Nets with the 27th overall pick of the 2017 NBA. Draft.
He turned down a long overdue $13 million player option to return to the Wizards in June. He was reportedly on the hunt for a deal worth nearly $30 million per season. After finally getting a spot to work as a regular starter in Washington, which he didn’t get much in Los Angeles, Kuzma has more than proven himself capable of being a consistent key fixture for the Wizards. Put him in the right spot, and Kuzma may be the missing piece for a franchise ready to make a run.