What the Washington Wizards decide to do with Bradley Beal will have a drastic impact on their organization moving forward. If the Wizards decide to trade Beal this offseason, they will be entering a rebuild, thus leading to questions about Kyle Kuzma's future.
Owning a $13 million player option this offseason, Kuzma is expected to opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent. Originally expected to seek a new, long-term deal with the Wizards, the talk of Kuzma leaving in free agency has become louder across the league.
There is a real belief that the Wizards will move Beal in attempts to start over and build for the future, which is why the notion of Kuzma following him out the door in Washington is relevant. Should this happen, the 27-year-old forward will become one of the better names available in free agency. Multiple league sources who spoke with ClutchPoints recently claimed the Phoenix Suns would be a prime landing spot for him.
Suns' prior interest in Kyle Kuzma
The Suns held interest in Kuzma ahead of the trade deadline this past season, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania, and sources say they had reached out to the Wizards in attempts to discuss trades centered around the former first-round pick before they made a move on superstar Kevin Durant. Ultimately, discussions centered on Kuzma did not go anywhere, as Washington was unwilling to move him.
Playing in 64 games with the Wizards this past season, Kuzma averaged a career-high 21.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor. A stretch forward who has proven to be a key secondary contributor on the wing, Kuzma is certainly an interesting name for Phoenix to consider this offseason.
Outside of Durant and Devin Booker, the Suns do not have many scoring options. Their depth was challenged in the postseason, and Phoenix has questions of their own to answer in the offseason regarding the futures of Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton.
Paul's contract guarantee date is on June 28 ahead of free agency, so it is unlikely he would be involved in any possible trade scenario unless the Suns were to guarantee his salary in whole and then trade him during the free agency period. As for Ayton, he remains a player on the trade block in Phoenix. The Suns are not prepared to give their former first overall pick up, though, unless they can bring in a key talent to supplement the play of Durant and Booker.
How would Suns land Kyle Kuzma?
Expected to see a new contract that will pay him well over $20 million per year, landing Kuzma seems impossible for the Suns to do via straight-up signing in free agency, which is why a sign-and-trade scenario would need to be explored.
Could Washington be interested in bringing in Ayton and building with him if they were to go through a rebuild? This would be the most likely path for Kuzma to land in Phoenix this offseason, especially since the Suns could look to expand this trade scenario with one of the Wizards veteran guards in Monte Morris and Delon Wright, both of whom are entering the final years of their respective contracts.
As a capable three-point shooter who has proven he can play alongside other stars, Kuzma would fit in with the Suns and would be reunited with Frank Vogel, who he won a championship with as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
Beal's potential departure from Washington would signal a change for the Wizards as an organization, very likely resulting in Kuzma leaving this offseason as well.
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