Suns reportedly reach buyout deal with Monroe

Ahead of last Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, there was a point with the Washington Wizards were close to trading Kyle Kuzma to the Dallas Mavericks. Even though Kuzma doesn’t have the ability to block a trade, Washington’s front office leader Michael Winger presented him with the trade idea anyway.

“There was a point in time, Dallas, they definitely did want me,” Kuzma told The Athletic on Monday, before the Wizards played the Mavericks at American Airlines Center. “(Michael) Winger presented me with what the trade was and obviously didn’t want to trade me and kind of left the decision up to me a little bit and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to stay and continue to build something. And that was kind of the end of it.”

Winger later said that Kuzma is an important part of what the Wizards are building.

“Kyle’s an important player for us and (a) significant contributor to our developing culture,” Winger told The Athletic on Monday.

Jayson Tatum struggled with his jumper both in the playoffs and the Olympics, but it is something he has worked on this offseason.

Tatum has been doing two-a-days with his longtime skills coach Drew Hanlen and physical therapist Nick Sang to address a mechanical issue in his jumper.

“I think a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, he’s out for revenge,'” Hanlen told ESPN. “I don’t think Jayson looks at it like that. He’s like, ‘Compare my resume at 27 to Michael Jordan, who never won one at 27. Compare it to LeBron, who had won one. Compare it to Steph, who had one.”

Tatum shot just 28.3 percent on three-pointers during the 2024 playoffs. In the 2024 Olympics, Tatum shot 38.1 percent from the field and didn’t make a single three-pointer. Back in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Tatum shot 44.5 percent on 6.3 three-point attempts per game over six games.