Kyle Kuzma and Monte Morris have fulfilled their childhood dream of being NBA teammates

Normally a trade for a mid-level player prior to NBA free agency wouldn’t be a big deal, but the Wizards acquiring Monté Morris means much more. Morris and Kyle Kuzma are now teammates again, and in doing so the pair is fulfilling a childhood dream they have had since they were eight years old.

Kuzma said goodbye to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who’s now off to Denver to join the Nuggets — but there was a silver lining to the trade as well.

Morris and Kuzma came up in basketball together in Flint, Michigan — first competing on a Nerf hoop in Kuzma’s bedroom as kids. Their rivalry over the years was cultivated in youth basketball, and was the subject of an ESPN profile in 2020 when the duo met in the playoffs.

When they were eight years old playing youth ball Kuzma and Morris imagined the possibility of playing on the same team in the NBA. Normally dreams like that are the stuff of imagination, relegated to wistful memories — but now the two players from Flint are united in Washington and it feels so good.

Obviously the two players careers have taken a lot of twists and turns. In high school it was Morris who was touted as Michigan’s next “great one,” and he poked fun at the fact that Kuzma was never able to beat him until they reached the NBA. Meanwhile Kuzma has been the better pro, blossoming into a solid NBA player who is a core player alongside Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis for the Wizards.

Hopefully the reunion between Kuzma and Morris won’t be short lived. Kuzma has been the source of trade rumors in recent weeks, with the Wizards reportedly shopping Kuzma in the hopes of finding a backcourt partner at point guard to pair with Beal.

For now, Kuzma and Morris can enjoy being reunited. If you’re the sentimental type you’ll hope this sticks, and we see these players team up once more for the first time in two decades.