Bucks load up for postseason with Kyle Kuzma addition

Milwaukee traded long-time Buck Khris Middleton, rookie AJ Johnson and a pick swap to the Washington Wizards for 29-year-old forward Kyle Kuzma. To make the deal happen, Kuzma gave up the trade bonus in his contract to help the Bucks stay below the second apron.

The floundering Bucks needed a big move after losing four straight games and dropping to fifth in the Eastern Conference. That came at the expense of Middleton, their three-time All-Star who was an integral piece of their title team in 2021. This season, they barely had Middleton at all.

Middleton had arthroscopic surgeries on both of his ankles last summer, which caused him to miss Milwaukee's first 21 games while they stumbled to a 4-9 start. When he's been on the court, he's averaging 12.6 points, his worst scoring averaging since 2013-14, though he's shooting a career-best 51.2 percent.

They say the best ability is availability, and Middleton simply couldn't provide that for Milwaukee in the past three seasons. He played only 33 of the Bucks' 82 games in 2022-23 and 55 games last season, both years ending in first-round playoff exits.

Now they're bringing in Kuzma, whose numbers have been down this season (15.2 points, 42 percent shooting, 28 percent on threes) as he's played through injuries to his ribs and legs. He was also on a Wizards team with no spacing, often playing alongside two centers in Alex Sarr and Jonas Valanciunas and shoot-first point guard Jordan Poole.

He's not a perfect fit on the Bucks, but Kuzma may have been the best upgrade available to them.

Now the Bucks look more dangerous in a loaded top of the Eastern Conference, though still a step below the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. Any team that has Giannis Antetokounmpo has a chance, however, and Kuzma ups those chances significantly from Middleton.

Middleton deserves to have his jersey retired by the Bucks someday. But today, he's no longer a reliable NBA player, at least not on a contending team.