One-on-one with Washington's Kyle Kuzma

Kuzma was in Dallas this week after the Mavericks unsuccessfully tried to acquire him at the trade deadline. We spoke about that and some of his Lakers past

Shortly after midnight on NBA Trade Deadline Day last week, I reported that Kyle Kuzma had asked the Washington Wizards not to trade him.

Here's an excerpt from that piece:

If Washington holds firm on the rising indications this week that it plans to keep Kyle Kuzma beyond Thursday's trade deadline, Kuzma's apparent desire to stay put is believed to be one of the key factors.

League sources say that Kuzma, who has attracted trade interest from teams such as Dallas and Sacramento, has not been angling for a change of scenery despite the Wizards’ 9-41 struggles. And wanting to stay with the Wizards, I'm told, has had an influence on the talks.

The Wizards were in Dallas on Monday and I had the opportunity after the morning shootaround to ask Kuzma directly if the version of events I heard and reported was accurate.

"Yup," he said.

Kuzma was the Mavericks’ top trade deadline target. The Wizards wanted two first-round picks in any Kuzma deal. When the teams’ Kuzma talks fizzled, they pivoted to a Daniel Gafford-to-Dallas trade that netted Washington a first-round pick in the upcoming June draft via Oklahoma City. The Mavericks then packaged a first-round pick in the 2027 draft to Charlotte — only top-2-protected and their lone available first-round pick to trade at the deadline — with Grant Willams and Seth Curry to acquire P.J. Washington to fill the role earmarked for Kuzma.

Read on more from our chat: