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Bucks trade Middleton to Wizards for Kuzma

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4 hoursBasketball

The Milwaukee Bucks traded Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday in a deal involving fellow forward Kyle Kuzma.

Middleton, a three-time All-Star, and rookie first-round pick AJ Johnson are heading to the Wizards. Kuzma and Patrick Baldwin Jr. will land with the Bucks.

Milwaukee (26-22) entered Wednesday’s NBA action in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, while Washington is a league-worst 8-41.

Middleton made his 2024-25 debut on December 6 following offseason surgery on each of his ankles and is averaging 12.6 points, 4.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 23 games.

Injuries also limited the 2021 NBA champion to 55 games last season and 33 in 2022-23.

Middleton spent his rookie season with the Detroit Pistons after they selected him in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft.

Middleton had been with the Bucks since they acquired him in July 2013 and was instrumental in helping Milwaukee win the championship in 2021, averaging 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.52 steals in 23 play-off games.

Kuzma played his first four NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to Washington in August 2021.

A career 17.2-points-per-game scorer, Kuzma is averaging 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 32 games this season.

He is having a tough shooting campaign with career worsts of 42% from the field, 28.1% from 3-point range and 60.2% from the free-throw line.

Johnson was the 23rd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and appeared in only seven games for Milwaukee.

Baldwin Jr. is in his third year in the league after being selected in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He averaged just 4.6 minutes in 22 appearances this season for Washington.