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The Milwaukee Bucks pulled off a trade Wednesday, sending Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma. The Bucks also included AJ Johnson and a pick swap while getting Patrick Baldwin Jr. and second-round draft compensation in the deal. While some may question the decision to trade a franchise legend like Middleton for a player in Kuzma who has struggled on a tanking Wizards team this season, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports the deal has the support of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I’m told a key element of the trade talks that brought Kyle Kuzma to Milwaukee in exchange for championship mainstay Khris Middleton: a large vote of support for Kuzma from one Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Fischer writes.
Giannis had played with Middleton his entire career, winning an NBA title together in 2021. However, while Antetokounmpo has been publicly supportive of his longtime teammate, Middleton has dealt with injury problems in recent years that have sapped his effectiveness. The 33-year-old is still shooting the ball well this season, but there's concern about how his ankles will hold up after undergoing surgery on both of them last offseason.
In Kuzma, the Bucks are getting an NBA champion who has lost his way with the lowly Wizards. He's shooting just 42.0% percent overall and 28.1% from 3-point range this season while also acknowledging he didn't really fit in with Washington's youth movement. The hope is the 29-year-old can find the form that saw him score over 22 points per game last season.
Milwaukee also got some salary flexibility with this trade, ducking below the dreaded second apron thanks to Kuzma reducing his trade kicker. The Bucks are now able to aggregate contracts in a trade, so look for them to make another move to improve the roster around Giannis, Kuzma and Damian Lillard.
Time will tell if this was a good move, but for now, it has the support of the person who matters most.