11 Players who turned their back on the Dallas Mavericks

6. Kyle Kuzma

Before the 2024 NBA trade deadline, the Dallas Mavericks' top two trade priorities were P.J. Washington and Kyle Kuzma. Dallas was looking for a forward with size who could create off the dribble, but one of the aforementioned players fits this description better than the other.

Kuzma is 6-foot-9 and is extremely gifted as a scorer for his size. He can create for his teammates or himself and light up the scoreboard. Dallas remained interested in Kuzma leading up to the trade deadline, and there was a deal in place that would have sent Kuzma to Dallas.

When asked by the Washington Wizards if Kuzma wanted to be traded to Dallas, Kuzma decided to stay in Washington. Kuzma said that his timeline and Dallas' timeline didn't line up, and maybe he wanted to continue to be the man in Washington rather than being the third option in Dallas.

Kuzma would have had a chance to contend this year, but he wanted to remain on the Wizards. He wanted to stay loyal to the team that he had been on for the past few years, but it would have been fun to see Kuzma play next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Dallas ended up landing a much better defender as they traded for P.J. Washington, and maybe the Mavs and Wizards will revisit these trade talks at some point in the future.