Kyle Kuzma's short-sighted decision to spurn Mavericks is looking worse by the day

The Dallas Mavericks coasted to a 130-108 victory over the league-worst Washington Wizards on Monday night, as the Mavericks got out to an early lead behind seven first quarter 3-pointers from Klay Thompson and never looked back.

The Mavericks simply controlled all facets of this game, and even though the Wizards have both the worst offensive and defensive ratings in the league, it was still nice to see the Mavericks dominate a game from wire to wire. Because of being decimated by injuries at the center position, Dallas waived two-way contract guard Jazian Gortman and signed G League standout center Kylor Kelley to a two-way deal ahead of this contest, and Dallas was up comfortably enough to where Kelley was able to make his NBA debut in the fourth quarter of the contest.

With the degree of difficulty of Dallas’ schedule as well as the fact that the Mavericks have dealt with so many absences in their lineup recently, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Mavericks make a trade ahead of the February 6 deadline, but Dallas almost certainly won't be trading for one player that they played against on Monday night.

Kuzma eyes exit from Wizards after rejecting Mavericks' trade offer

Just last season, Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma was approached by the president of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger in regards to his willingness to be traded to the Mavericks, as Winger manages the Wizards and had a prospective deal on the table to send Kuzma to the Dallas Mavericks. However, Kuzma didn't want to be traded at the time and refuted Winger's request, and the exchange left a bitter taste in Mavericks fans' mouths when reports surfaced that Kuzma didn't want to be traded to Dallas ahead of last season's trade deadline.

While the Mavericks dealt with Washington handily on Monday night, Kuzma had one of his better games of the season in Washington's 119-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns last Saturday, as Kuzma has 30 points on 12-24 shooting from the field. After the game, Kuzma was asked by reporters about his performance, and he revealed a new sentiment toward the Wizards that we didn't see from him last season.

“I think today I just decided to be myself and not really just try to fit into everything that we’re doing here, and just really played in the moment," Kuzma said postgame following the Wizards' loss to the Suns last Saturday.

This quote from Kuzma shows that he's not bought into the current product the Wizards are rolling out, as the Wizards are clearly rebuilding with the worst record in the league currently at 6-39. When further pressed by reporters, Kuzma said he hadn't talked with Wizards management about being traded yet, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the Wizards deal him elsewhere ahead of the trade deadline.

Kuzma reportedly even registered interest in coming to Dallas about a month ago per NBA insider Jake Fischer, as Kuzma's request to come to the Mavericks is seemingly coming way too late if that report is true.

Kuzma is a great scorer from the wing position and has solid length defensively despite his counting stats slipping this season due to a decreased role with the Wizards, and he could definitely be a dynamic addition to plenty of starting fives across the league, but it's doubtful that will be in Dallas even though his asking price seems to have slipped.

Kuzma could help add some shooting to Dallas' lineup, but he's an average defender for his size and the Mavericks have more pressing needs currently, so it seems like him declining to come to Dallas last season practically shut the door on any future union with the Mavericks.