Kyle Kuzma speaks out on vetoing trade to Dallas last season: ‘I figure I was right’

Ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, forward Kyle Kuzma was dealt from the Washington Wizards to the Milwaukee Bucks in a four-team deal that involved the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.

However, Kuzma could have been traded from the Wizards before then if he wanted to. Prior to last season’s deadline, he could have landed with the Dallas Mavericks, but he opted to veto the trade.

Kuzma recently spoke out on his decision to veto the trade to Dallas and claimed that he made the right choice.

“I figure I was right,” Kuzma said. “It just felt like I had a clear, definite situation here to really impact and be available for this team. So far, so good.”

If Kuzma joined the Mavericks partway through the 2023-24 campaign, perhaps he would have been part of a deep playoff run with the team later on in the year. After all, even without Kuzma, Dallas reached the 2024 NBA Finals with guards Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic spearheading the team.

But Dallas has arguably fallen from grace as much as any team in the league compared to a season ago. After representing the West in the NBA Finals less than a year ago, the Mavericks are in jeopardy of missing the 2025 NBA Playoffs entirely. The team owns the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference at 33-35 and is just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 11 seed Phoenix Suns.

The Mavericks traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the year, and that deal has aged poorly for Dallas to this point. Wins have been especially hard to come by for Dallas since it parted ways with one of the more talented players in franchise history.

Kuzma is averaging 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game through 17 contests played with the Bucks this season, and Milwaukee has an impressive record with him in the lineup. The Bucks have won 11 of the games he’s played in thus far.

The Bucks won their most recent game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, and Kuzma made his presence felt in that contest, even if he didn’t score the ball at a high level. He totaled just eight points but contributed as many rebounds to go along with three steals.