The Milwaukee Bucks traded three-time All-Star and 2021 NBA Champion Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma, who himself won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2020. In addition to trading Middleton, the Bucks also sent rookie AJ Johnson to Washington, and also received Wisconsin native and UWM product Patrick Baldwin Jr. in return.
Truth be told, trading Middleton was not completely unexpected. Over the last two and a half seasons, he has missed more than half of the team’s games due to injury. When he is healthy and in a groove, he still plays like the All-Star who carried a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, that version of Middleton had rarely been observed this season.
The Milwaukee Bucks Must Hope Kyle Kuzma Improves This Season
From 2017-2022, Middleton averaged over 20 points per game four times, made three All-Star teams, and, of course, helped lead Milwaukee to a NBA Championship.
This season, however, he has struggled since returning from offseason surgery on both of his ankles. That being said, while his scoring average is down (12.6 points per game), he still is shooting 51/41/85 from the floor.
Kuzma, on the other hand, is having a down year in scoring and shooting. After averaging 21.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists while shooting 46/33/75 from the floor in his previous two seasons, the now-former Wizards star is averaging 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 42/28/60 from the floor.
Of course, playing alongside Giannis and Damian Lillard on the 27-22 Bucks will be a much better and productive situation for him than being the first or second option on a Wizards team that is currently 9-41.
Still, many fans wonder how this trade makes the team better, a sentiment that is shared by their star player.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Does Not Know How the Khris Middleton Trade Improves the Milwaukee Bucks
Many fans forget that when Milwaukee won the NBA Finals back in 2021, Giannis and Middleton were the ones who had been on the team the longest. Both came to the Bucks in 2013, a year that saw Milwaukee go 15-67.
They went through a great deal together, building the team from the ground up and finally elevating them to the highest peak in the NBA.
Losing one of his closest friends and favorite teammates to a trade is certainly a difficult thing for the two-time NBA MVP, which may explain why he had this to say when asked about how the trade improves the team:
“I don’t know. I didn’t make the decision. You gotta ask the decision-maker. I don’t know. But, at the end of the day, you cannot disrespect anybody that comes and joins your team. You gotta be open minded and be a good teammate. But at the end of the day, you gotta ask that made the decision.”
Obviously, the person who made the decision is Bucks general manager Jon Horst. And one can understand why he decided to make the move that he did. The deal brought Milwaukee under the second apron of the NBA’s luxury tax. Additionally, Kuzma will make less money per year in each of the two remaining seasons on his contract.
He is also younger and more athletic than the oft-injured Middleton.
Losing a franchise legend stings, but maybe, just maybe, it will work out for the best.
More Milwaukee Bucks News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Bucks Fans Get Emotional as 3x All-Star Khris Middleton Traded to “a Team Going Nowhere”
- “Life Comes at You Fast;” Bucks Star Bobby Portis Reveals Devastating Reason for 6-Game Absence
- Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Wins Huge Individual Award for 11th Time in His Career
- Bucks Receive Huge News About Bobby Portis Ahead of Game vs Hornets
- Giannis Breaks Silence on Khris Middleton Trade; “For Me It’s Bigger than Business”
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