The Milwaukee Bucks are the latest title contender to make a splash!
After rumors swirled the last few days surrounding the franchise and Kyle Kuzma, this morning the deal has gone down, per ESPN’s Shams Charania,
Milwaukee adds the 29-year-old forward from the Washington Wizards, as well as Patrick Baldwin Jr and second-round draft capital in exchange for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, and a future pick swap.
Breaking: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson and a pick swap to the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and second-round draft compensation, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/hCOzqqqUXE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2025Kyle Kuzma Heads To Milwaukee For Khris Middleton
The move by the Bucks accomplishes a few things. For starters, it gets them under the second tax apron, thus giving them some more financial flexibility to work with at this deadline and beyond. While it’s very possible that this is their only move before the deadline, getting under that second apron was still important for Milwaukee. When above this new NBA threshold, teams can’t use the mid-level exception, can’t trade multiple players in the same deal, can’t sign-and-trade their own players to acquire others, and can’t send out cash in any trades. That’s not great for a team that still very much needs work.
As for the player they are picking up, it’s a bit of a buy-low move on Kuzma, whose ceiling is high but has had a down year. He was still averaging a little over 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds for Washington this season, but his field goal percentage is down to 42 percent, and he’s only hitting threes at a 28 percent clip, which is a career-low. The Bucks are obviously hoping a change of scenery and playing next to two superstars will open things up for the forward. And, regardless, he adds a level of defensive versatility the team otherwise lacked at the wing.
While Khris Middleton was a vital part of the Bucks championship roster a few years ago, injuries have started to catch up to him. His contract for this year and next – which features a player option he was bound to pick – committed over $30 million per season to the 33-year-old. As for Kuzma’s deal, he carries cap hits of $23 million this year, $21 million next year, and $19 million the following year, which isn’t at all difficult to stomach for the Bucks. He also already agreed to reduce his trade bonus to help the Bucks moving forward.
I’m sure Wizards fans were probably hoping for a little better of a return, but that pick swap in 2028 could prove extremely valuable. If Middleton is able to finish the season healthy and productive, his expiring contract after the 2025-26 season could also be one that a contender wouldn’t mind taking on.
This deal marks a bit of an end of an era for the Bucks. Middleton has been with Milwaukee since 2013-14 and played a huge part on their 2021 NBA Championship team. Now, both he and Jrue Holiday are gone and Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only member of that “big three” that still remains.
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