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The Sacramento Kings are coming off a very successful season in which they made the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2006. Meanwhile, their arrow appears to be pointing straight up, as most of their core players are still under the age of 30.
However, it looks like the Kings could make a splash in this year’s free agency to accelerate their trajectory even more. According to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is gaining momentum as a potential target for Sacramento:
“The name that’s gained plenty of momentum as a potential Sacramento target is Kuzma, who once thrived down the road in Los Angeles and was nearly dealt to the Kings in 2021 before the Lakers rerouted Kuzma to the Wizards instead and acquired Russell Westbrook,” Fischer wrote.
Fischer added that Sacramento could have more than $25 million in available cap space that it could use to present Kuzma with a sizeable offer:
“Even with a new deal for Sabonis, plus the Kings' expectation to bring back versatile forward Trey Lyles, sources said, Sacramento could have more than $25 million to play with in cap room, according to salary projections provided to Yahoo Sports,” Fischer wrote.
Kuzma is coming off a career-best season with the Wizards. He averaged 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.5 blocks and 2.5 3-pointers per game on 44.8% shooting over 64 games.
Can the Sacramento Kings land Kyle Kuzma in free agency?
The Washington Wizards appear to be tending toward a rebuild after trading away stars Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis in recent weeks. This could make it more plausible for the Sacramento Kings to sign Kyle Kuzma than some of their other reported free-agency targets (Draymond Green, Khris Middleton). However, the 27-year-old forward is still expected to be a hot commodity on the free-agent market as he appears to be just entering his prime.
If the Kings can ultimately land Kuzma in free agency, he should fit nicely in Sacramento. Kuzma could slide into one of the Kings' frontcourt positions next to star big man Domantas Sabonis and sharpshooter Keegan Murray. This would come at the expense of veteran forward Harrison Barnes. However, Kuzma would likely add even more offensive firepower to the Kings' No. 1 ranked offense (118.6 offensive rating). He would also provide the team with valuable championship experience after winning a title with the LA Lakers in 2020.
