"Don't snooze": Kyle Kuzma drops cryptic IG message for fans amid trade rumors
Kyle Kuzma is reportedly on the trading block ahead of the trade deadline. According to Marc Stein, the Washington Wizards have been shopping Kuzma to other teams amid a rough season, in which they have only won five of their first 28 games.
Kuzma has been with the Wizards since 2021 and Washington has failed to make the playoffs in his time with the franchise. This year, Kuzma has only played 12 games as he has been nursing a rib injury.
On Friday, the former NBA champion went to Instagram to give an update about his recovery from injury, while also dropping a cryptic message as the trade rumors around him heat up.
“Healthy, confident, full strengthened & tested thru the wind. Love u 🏀will be demonstrating who I am and what I’m about in a big way don’t snooze,” he wrote with a picture of him doing a deadlift.
In his next IG story, Kuzma posted a picture of a man dancing through the rain with a cryptic caption.
“Sometimes you can’t wait for the surges of the storm to traverse,” Kuzma said.
Kuzma was traded to the Wizards in 2021 after playing a key role in the LA Lakers’ 2020 NBA championship run. He was part of the deal that brought Russell Westbrook to LA.
This season, Kuzma is averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, shooting a career-worst 27.6 percent from the three-point range. Numerous teams have been linked with Kuzma in the past weeks, including the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, and the Lakers.
Kyle Kuzma has no regrets about denying trade from last season’s Western Conference champions
Last year, Kyle Kuzma almost departed the Wizards via trade to the Dallas Mavericks. He called off the trade, stretching his stint with Washington while seeing the Mavericks go on a deep playoff run that culminated in an NBA Finals loss against the Boston Celtics.
Kuzma looked back at the deal in an interview with Josh Robbins by the Athletic, saying that he had no regrets in his decision to cancel the trade.
“Absolutely not. A big part of the Mavericks becoming who they were was getting an extra center and a forward. If I would’ve went there, that wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
The Mavericks instead got PJ Washington and former Wizards center Daniel Gafford ahead of last year’s trade deadline, helping them achieve their first NBA finals appearance since winning the title in 2011.