Kuzma gaining ‘plenty of momentum’ as Kings target

The Kings will have enough salary-cap space to make a splash in NBA free agency this offseason, and there are a number of potentials fits they could target.

One of those players is Kyle Kuzma, who will become an unrestricted free agent when the negotiating window opens Friday after declining his $13 million player option with the Washington Wizards. As that period approaches, Kuzma signing with Sacramento appears to be a real possibility.

Kuzma’s name has “gained plenty of momentum as a potential Sacramento target” recently, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported Tuesday, also noting the 6-foot-9 forward is said to be searching for upward of $30 million in average annual salary.

For the Kings, who Fischer also reported, citing sources, expect to re-sign the versatile Trey Lyles, that number might not be a problem. They have financial flexibility to the tune of over $35 million before a potential new Lyles contract and an extension for Domantas Sabonis, per Spotrac’s Keith Smith, and Fischer notes that number still could be over $25 million even with those deals.

Sabonis’ eventual new Kings contract is expected to be in the ballpark of four years, $120 million, Fischer reported, citing sources. And after the Kings’ draft-day trade of Richaun Holmes and the No. 24 overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks, Fischer noted many league personnel are “of the mind that Sacramento has a specific move up its sleeve.”

The team’s newfound cap space could make a Kuzma addition feasible, offering another dependable option in coach Mike Brown’s lineup who NBC Sports California’s Tom Dierberger predicts would take over the power forward spot currently held by Keegan Murray.

“For us, we always value the optionality and flexibility when we acquire it,” general manager Monte McNair told reporters after the Kings’ cap-clearing draft trade. “This was a great season for a lot of reasons. We want to have a long, long playoff run here and continue to compete. To do that in today’s NBA, you have to be able to build your team out, not just in the very near term but over the course of many years. We’re always having that balance. What can we do to help the team now, but how does that affect what we can do going forward?

“We think what we were able to do tonight, and what we’ve done at the deadline and in past years will give us a lot of options.”

Kuzma’s reported momentum as one of the Kings’ options comes as no surprise after the 27-year-old’s 2022-23 NBA season, where he averaged a career-high 21.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 35 minutes per contest. While there are other free agents Sacramento could consider, like Draymond Green or Khris Middleton, Kuzma’s status as an outside shooting threat would fit right into Brown’s offense.

The Kings earned their first taste of the NBA playoffs in 17 years this spring, and now they’re hungry for more. With a myriad of free-agency choices and the money to make things happen, it should be an exciting summer.

But as far as the reported Kuzma-to-Sacramento traction, Kings fans will just have to wait and see how everything plays out.