NBA trade deadline: Bucks reportedly trade Khris Middleton to Wizards
The second act of Kyle Kuzma’s career is over after the Washington Wizards traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks for Khris Middleton, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Bucks are also sending AJ Johnson to Washington, while Milwaukee will also acquire Patrick Baldwin Jr. and second-round draft compensation.
The move ends a four-season tenure for Kuzma in D.C., where the Wizards continue to languish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with little hope of a turnaround, in either this season or the next few years. Futility is nothing new for Washington, which hasn’t posted a record above .500 since 2017-18.
The Wizards had been known to be interested in trading him for a while.
Meanwhile, the Bucks’ search for more support for the superstar tandem of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard has led to the end of a 12-season tenure for Middleton in Milwaukee that saw him blossom from a lightly regarded second-round pick into the second-leading scorer, rebounder and assist man on an NBA champion.
End of an era for Middleton in Milwaukee
Middleton is averaging 12.6 points in 23.2 minutes per game — both his lowest numbers in more than a decade — across 23 appearances, 16 of which have come off the bench. He’s taken on a larger facilitating role in the second unit, dishing 4.4 assists a night, while shooting an efficient 58.4% on 2-pointers, 40.7% on 3s and 84.8% from the free-throw line.
The 33-year-old made three All-Star teams with the Bucks, averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game across a dozen seasons. He exits Milwaukee second in franchise history in games and minutes played, behind only Antetokounmpo, and at or near the top of the franchise record book in a slew of other categories.
Only Giannis and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have scored more points in a Bucks uniform than Middleton, who came to Wisconsin as part of the Brandon…
