5 way too early NBA trade deadline targets for fringe contenders

September marks the last full month without NBA basketball until next June. Training camp is set to open this month, with preseason following soon after. The offseason was relatively quiet, as a lot of rumors that were supposed to be the talk of summer ended up yielding quiet results. That doesn’t mean the trade rumors die down with the offseason.

While the trade deadline is next February, it is never too early to look at potential players that could find themselves in the rumor mill…again. Here are three way too early NBA trade deadline targets.

5) Kyle Kuzma

Kyle Kuzma has been in trade rumors for a long time now and this might be the year the Washington Wizards pull the trigger on a trade. Kuzma has drawn interest from the Mavericks and Sacramento Kings and has molded himself into a volume scorer.

Kuzma has championship experience, as he was part of the Los Angeles Lakers championship winning team in 2020. Since arriving in Washington in 2021 however, Kuzma has played anything but winning basketball.

Despite that, Kuzma has expanded his offensive game and has averaged over 20 PPG the last two seasons. His efficiency could use some work, as he was just above 33 percent from three and had a true shooting percentage of just 55 percent. The league average last season was 58 percent.

The Wizards are in the midst of a long rebuild and have already traded Deni Avdija away. They have young talent like Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George. Plus, with a stacked 2025 NBA Draft class coming in and the chance to get Cooper Flagg, Washington might trade Kuzma in order to recoup even more assets for their rebuild.