Getty Erik Spoelstra
The Miami Heat made a major midseason shakeup when they traded Kyle Lowry for Terry Rozier. Rozier is younger than Lowry and gives them more offensive pop, but it may not be enough. If the Heat aren’t done making trades, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley proposed a trade that would add more help by adding Kyle Kuzma.
Buckley proposed the following trade between the Heat and Washington Wizards in a January 26 story.
Heat receive: Kuzma
Wizards receive: Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic, 2028 First-Round pick swap, 2026 Second-Round Pick
Buckley explained why the Heat would want Kuzma on their team.
“Kuzma would give them another scoring option who can create his own shots or find them for others. His three-ball is a bit shaky, but he can hover around league average at (a) decent volume. He’s offered a decent amount of defensive versatility when he’s been a part of winning teams.”
Kuzma helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA Championship and has evolved as a wing scorer over the years. Kuzma’s averaging a career-high 21.8 points a game while shooting 45.7% from the field and 33.8% from three.
The Wizards are 8-37 and have started a rebuild. If they make Kuzma available, they may look to see if they can get a better trade than what the Heat would offer here.
Wizards ‘Reticent’ With Kyle Kuzma: Report
Since their season isn’t going anywhere, it would make sense for the Wizards to trade Kyle Kuzma. However, at the moment, they’re not rushing any trade. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on his podcast on January 23 that the Wizards haven’t shown much interest in trading
“Washington has been very reticent with Kyle Kuzma,” Wojnarowski said on his podcast, as transcribed by RealGM. “People are calling them. Teams tell me they call them, and they’re not getting counters from Washington. If you want to register an offer for Kuzma, fine, you can do it. But they’re not at the point now where it seems like they’re really active in maybe seriously trying to move him.”
Wojnarowski added that though things may change, the Wizards’ higher-ups like having Kuzma around.
“It could change by the deadline, but I know Michael Winger and Will Dawkins like Kuzma, like having him there. I think they’ll be particular about what they might do.”
Kuzma is in the first year of a four-year, $90 million contract, and said contract gets less expensive with each passing year.
Ayo Dosumu Floated as Heat Trade Target
Kyle Kuzma is not the only one whom the Heat could target before the NBA Trade Deadline. In a January 24 story, Buckley explained why the Heat should look into adding Ayo Dosunmu.
“Dosunmu could be an improvement over Josh Richardson, helping to cover for some of the defensive deficiencies of a Rozier-Tyler Herro backcourt,” Buckley wrote.
Despite his decline, losing Kyle Lowry hurts the Heat’s defense. Dosunmu and Kuzma could help the Heat fill that hole. While the Heat could use more scoring efficiency from the likes of Rozier and Kuzma, having good defenders too could help their title aspirations.