The Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma is a talented and experienced player that the Miami Heat need to acquire in order to return to the NBA Finals and win their fourth championship as a team. In an August 12 story, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz proposed a blockbuster trade that would send Kuzma to the Heat with the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards.
Heat Received: Kuzma
Magic Receive: Josh Richardson, Malcolm Brogdon, and a second-round pick in the 2026 Lakers
Cole Anthony, Jett Howard, Nikola Jović, Duncan Robinson, and the 2029 top-five protected Heat first-round pick are acquired by the Wizards.
Next, Swartz outlined Kuzma’s case to the Heat.
In the previous campaign, Kuzma averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and made 35.5 percent of his three-pointers from the field. Between Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, he would be the perfect starting power forward since he is a willing passer and a threat to score points.
He was a major contributor to the Lakers’ 2020 championship victory. He would provide the Heat with another scorer if Miami were to pull off a trade for him. Even better, he provides them with another scoring option, something they haven’t had to do with Butler since his 2019 arrival.
Kuzma is a player with Washington, one of the worst teams in the NBA. On paper, he wouldn’t have much of a future there because the Wizards are currently rebuilding. Teams in the NBA are monitoring Kuzma’s availability.
It was reported by ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk on July 17 that Kuzma is attracting interest from NBA teams. The Wizards do not, however, intend to deal Kuzma right now.
Youngmisuk stated, “Washington will continue to operate with patience as it looks for young talent and draft picks. However, there is interest around the league in forward Kyle Kuzma.”
Kuzma is squarely in his peak at 29 years old. In addition, he will start the second year of a $90 million, four-year contract. The Wizards have an abundance of time to determine their course of action on Kuzma due to the duration of that contract.
Knowing Kuzma’s potential, the Heat could need to make a higher offer for him than what Swartz suggested because of how cheap his contract is. The Heat don’t have time to consider their next move, whereas the Wizards do.
The Appeal of Kyle Kuzma’s Contract
Not only is Kuzma in the peak of his career right now, but the contract becomes cheaper by the year.
Kuzma’s salary for the 2024–25 campaign is $23 million. It will increase to $21 million in the following season and $19 million in the final one. That might also play a role in the fact that his contract’s worth will only rise with time.
A talent like Kuzma fits what Miami needs on the court, and his deal may help the Heat avoid paying NBA tax penalties. They wouldn’t have to worry about losing money if they were to get better.
Even if he may not be very useful to the Wizards, his cost would still be high due to the benefits he offers.
Tyreek Hill claims that Noah Lyles faked being ill for the Olympics.
Tyreek Hill, a wide receiver with the Miami Dolphins, has made a name for himself as the NFL’s fastest player. One of the league’s most explosive wide receivers, Hill possesses both top-end speed and the ability to blast out of breaks and decelerate at the top of his routes. In 2019, the explosive wide receiver helped the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. He made Miami the only team to average over 400 offensive yards per game the previous season.
Although Hill’s speed can make NFL defenses cower, he is nothing compared to the competitors who will compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024. Despite this, the five-time All-Pro has not abated his criticism of American sprinter Noah Lyles, who has angered numerous athletes with his divisive remarks against NBA and NFL players.
At the 2023 World Athletic Championships in Budapest, Hungary, NBA Finals victors were chastised by Lyles for referring to themselves as “world champions.”
“You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head,” Lyles stated. “What is the world champion? The US? Do not misunderstand me. Sometimes I love the United States, but that’s not the globe. That’s not how the world works. The world is us. Almost every nation is present here, battling, prospering, and flying its flag to declare its presence. The NBA does not have any flags.”
NBA players were still responding to the remarks during the Paris Games, where the American men’s basketball team overcame France to win the gold medal.
Tyreek Hill lashes out at Noah Lyles for calling him a “world champion”
In an interview with presenter Kay Adams on the “Up & Adams” podcast on Monday, Hill was asked about Lyles’ contention that Super Bowl winners shouldn’t think of themselves as global champions. With a provocative retort of his own, Hill implied that Lyles had exploited illness as a pretext for finishing third in the 200-meter sprint at the Paris Games.
“Noah Lyles can’t say nothing after what just happened to him,” Hill stated. “After that, he wants to act ill and come out. That sounds like horseradish to me. So it’s disappointing that he would claim that we aren’t the global champions in our sport. Just talk about what you know, which is track, please, bruh.”
Lyles set a personal record of 9.78 seconds to win gold in the 100-meter event at the Paris Games. Following his third-place result in the 200-meter race, Lyles lost consciousness and had to be wheeled off the track. In the days preceding the race, he tested positive, as he subsequently disclosed.
6x All Pro and SB Champ Tyreek Hill responds to Noah Lyles comments about Super Bowl winners not being "World Champs"… 👀🔊
"Come on bruh, just speak on what you know about and that's track… I would beat Noah Lyles (in a race)." @cheetah @heykayadams @MiamiDolphins… pic.twitter.com/E6zQ9EgEBX
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) August 12, 2024
Hill went on to joke about with Lyles, saying he could win a race against the gold medallist.
Hill declared, “I would defeat Noah Lyles.” “I’m not going to beat him by a lot, but I would beat Noah Lyles.”
In 2016, Hill’s fastest speed was 23.24 mph during a kick return; this was around four mph less than Lyles’s peak speed of 27.09 mph, which he achieved while winning the 100-meter event. Hill has a history in track, but sprinting on turf with protection and a helmet definitely slowed him down. In 2013, he ran a 9.98-second 100-meter dash at the NJCAA championships, earning him the title of high school All-American.
Either way, it probably doesn’t matter. In a foot race, Hill would have no chance against Lyles. Maybe each of them should just focus on their own sport.
