Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma On Trade Rumors: Victor Wembanyama Is Lone Untouchable

October 9, 2024

Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has heard it all before. Trade rumors? That’s just another day in the NBA for him.

Now in his eighth season, Kuzma has become accustomed to seeing his name pop up in trade discussions year after year. And despite his solid play with Washington, it’s been no different this season.

“I’ve been in trade rumors for eight years,” Kuzma told Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “I don’t really listen. I see. I don’t listen.”

Kuzma, who arrived in Washington via the Russell Westbrook trade, has yet to find the level of success that Westbrook briefly enjoyed with the Wizards. But despite the swirling rumors, Kuzma remains confident in his place. Still, he admits one thing: in today’s NBA, just about everyone is tradable — except maybe one guy.

“Everybody in the NBA is tradable, except for (Spurs center Victor Wembanyama),” Kuzma told Robbins. And he may not be not wrong.

Wembanyama may not have delivered immediate success, but he’s seen as the centerpiece of the Spurs’ long-term plans. Kuzma’s statement highlights the rarity of a player like Wembanyama, who was deemed untouchable before even completing a full NBA season.

The Spurs, a young team with high expectations, are betting big on the 20-year-old. Even though their playoff hopes rest on his shoulders, there’s a sense in San Antonio that with Wembanyama, anything is possible. As teammate Devin Vassell bluntly put it: “Playoffs. That’s it. That’s all I see.”

For now, Wembanyama remains off-limits in trade talks — and if he lives up to the hype, he’ll stay that way. But in the NBA, nothing is ever certain. Just ask Kuzma, who knows better than most that rumors are part of the territory.