The Washington Wizards aren't doing themselves any favors.
After it was recently reported that there was mutual interest in forward Kyle Kuzma signing an extension in the form of a new deal — should he likely opt out of his $13 million player option next season — the Wizards are now reportedly planning on doing the same with big man Kristaps Porzingis.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, Washington can offer Porzingis a maximum of four years and $180 million should he also opt out of his $36 million player option for the 2023-24 season — and there are serious discussions over such a deal.
Given that Bradley Beal is already locked up after signing a five-year, $251 million extension last summer, many are questioning the motives of the Wizards with these new reported extensions.
Although still possible, the Wizards look highly unlikely to achieve a play-in spot this year and will miss the postseason for the second year in a row with their big three of Beal, Kuzma and Porzingis.
Rather than breaking things up and rebuilding the roster, they are now giving highly lucrative deals to players who quite simply haven't delivered in moving the franchise forward.
It will also be difficult to move Kuzma or Porzingis and receive good pieces in return should the Wizards eventually decide to break things up after these extensions are confirmed.
Regardless, NBA Twitter responded in savage fashion to the news as expected. Here are some of the best reactions:
The Wizards are going to be stuck being mediocre forever because they don’t want to rebuild, suck at drafting, and overpay players beyond their worth https://t.co/1GIrk9eSES
— َ (@FeelLikeDrew) March 29, 2023
Wizards trying to stay mid pic.twitter.com/uhiml7wgDs
— Mike (@Mikee088) March 29, 2023
https://twitter.com/isowiz/status/1641183470738194434
I get everyone's tired of the Wizards being mid, I really don't think the average fan and some media members get how corrosive tanking is. https://t.co/sh7MTKpTtS
— 'Nata Edwards (@NataTheScribe) March 29, 2023
The Wizards are running back the mid 3 pic.twitter.com/1oGR2SNXYd
— Suicidal wizard fan (@bernard_dat) March 29, 2023
The Wizards are currently the No. 11 seed with a 34-42 record. They are 2.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls at the time of writing.
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