Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has had a career season in D.C., averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game on a 54.4 true shooting percentage.

Clearly developing as a scorer and playmaker since being traded to the Wizards in a five-team deal back in 2021, the Michigan native's fit with Washington isn't perfect but it has helped the Wizards be legitimate playoff contenders and keep the potential frustrations of franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal at bay.

Nonetheless, in discussing his future in D.C. with NBC Sports' Chase Hughes, Kuzma candidly acknowledges that he'll be taking the free agency process seriously. It will be his first team entering free agency, as the 27-year-old signed a three-year, $40 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

“I have the opportunity to go through that process, go through team pitches and go through the backend of being a free agent and learning and getting to know different people,” Kuzma says of becoming a free agent.

“At the end of the day, in this league, people move all the time, whether that’s coaches, GMs, players, staffs, front office people. You may end up at a new place and you never know who you’re going to cross paths with. Everything is energy,” he says.

After trading away former ninth overall pick Rui Hachimura to clear up a positional logjam at forward, Washington will likely be motivated to keep Kuzma in D.C. Especially as Kuzma remains the Wizards' most productive frontcourt player, aside from former fourth overall pick Kristaps Porzingis.