The Milwaukee Bucks have traded a key member of their 2021 title staff for an additional ex-NBA champion.
Khris Middleton has been traded to the Washington Wizards as a part of a deal for Kyle Kuzma, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Wednesday. The Bucks are additionally together with rookie guard AJ Johnson and a decide swap within the deal, with Washington sending Kuzma, ahead Patrick Baldwin Jr. and a second-round draft decide to Milwaukee.
Kuzma now joins Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in Milwaukee because the Bucks look to make one other title push. They’d misplaced 4 straight video games heading into Wednesday to fall to 26-22 on the season.
Middleton, a three-time All-Star, was a beloved participant with the Bucks. He spent greater than a decade with the staff and performed an enormous function in serving to Milwaukee win a championship in 2021. Middleton has averaged simply 12.6 factors per recreation this season as he continues to work again to full energy from offseason surgical procedures on every ankle.
The 29-year-old Kuzma is 4 years youthful than Middleton. Antetokounmpo was in favor of buying and selling Middleton as a part of a deal for Kuzma, according to NBA reporter Jake Fischer.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks reviews that Kuzma agreed to scale back the commerce kicker in his contract to assist the Bucks stay below the second apron.