Wizards hesitant to part with Kuzma

We are just a little more than two weeks away from the NBA trade deadline, we’ve had one not-unexpected trade with Terry Rozier landing in Miami, and a flurry more are likely coming. However, many of the rumors now are tamping down expectations. Here are the latest.

• Wizards do not sound eager to part with Kyle Kuzma. A lot of playoff teams could use a scoring wing like Kuzma, so teams are calling to test the trade waters. Earlier reports suggested the Wizards are keeping the price high — two first-round picks. All that has teams thinking Washington doesn’t really want to part with him, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on his podcast. Here’s Wojnarowski’s direct quote:

“People are calling them. Teams tell me they call them and they’re not getting counters from Washington. If you want to register an offer for Kuzma, fine, you can do it. But they’re not at the point now where it seems like they’re really active in maybe seriously trying to move him. It could change by the deadline, but I know Michael Winger and Will Dawkins like Kuzma, like having him there.”

Maybe move Kuzma off the top of the “will get traded at the deadline” list. It still feels like he could be traded at the NBA Draft or during the offseason.

• Bucks looking to upgrade roster, especially defensively, at deadline. While Adrian Griffin paid the price, it was personnel moves by the front office, as much or more than anything else, that has Milwaukee in the bottom 10 in the NBA in defense. Now the Bucks are using their limited trade assets — Portland’s 2024 second-round pick and a couple of role players — to find defensive upgrades at the trade deadline, reports Jake Fischer at Yahoo Sports.

Milwaukee has contacted various teams about what it could return with the second-round pick it will receive from Portland, sources said, which currently stands as No. 35 in the 2024 NBA Draft… With their early second, the Bucks are considering different combinations…