Wizards trade Kyle Kuzma to Bucks for Khris Middleton

According to nba.com, there was a three-way trade in the National Basketball Association on Wednesday involving the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards and New York Knicks. The principal players in the trade were power forward Kyle Kuzma of Flint, Michigan, and small forward Khris Middleton of Charleston, South Carolina. Kuzma went from Washington to Milwaukee, and Middleton went from Milwaukee to Washington.

There were four more players involved in the deal. Small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. of Green Bay, Wisconsin (a city most known for football) went from Washington to Milwaukee, point guard Delon Wright of Los Angeles, California went from Milwaukee to New York, center Jericho Sims of Minneapolis. Minnesota went from New York to Milwaukee, and rookie shooting guard AJ Johnson of Fresno, California went from Milwaukee to Washington. The Bucks also got a second round pick in 2025 as part of the transaction.

Kuzma is joining his third NBA franchise after four seasons each with the Los Angeles Lakers and Wizards. In 32 games this season, Kuzma is averaging 15.2 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, and 2.5 assists per game. He had a field goal percentage of .420, three point percentage of .281, and free throw percentage of .602. Kuzma was on the Lakers team that won the 2020 NBA Finals where he averaged 10 points per game in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

Like Kuzma, Middleton is joining his third NBA franchise after one season with the Detroit Pistons (2012-13), and the last dozen seasons with the Bucks. He was a three-time NBA All-Star in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and won the NBA Finals with the Bucks in 2021. This season Middleton is averaging 12.6 points per game, 4.4 assists per game and 3.7 rebounds per game, with a field goal percentage of .512, three point percentage of .407, and free throw percentage of .848. He missed the Bucks’s first 21 games this season because of offseason surgeries on both ankles.