In their desperate attempt to upgrade the roster before the trade deadline, the Milwaukee Bucks are acquiring Kyle Kuzma from the Washington Wizards in a package for Khris Middleton.

Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Bucks will receive Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and a second-round draft pick from the Wizards for Middleton, AJ Johnson and a pick swap.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, “a key element” of the deal involved “a large vote of support” from Giannis Antetokounmpo:

Fischer also noted the Bucks were talking to the Chicago Bulls about Zach LaVine before he wound up getting traded to the Sacramento Kings as part of the three-team deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs.

Middleton’s name had popped up in trade rumors in recent weeks as one of the few Bucks players with any real value who they might consider moving.

Even though it can be argued that Middleton is the best player being moved in this trade, there’s a level of certainty that Kuzma offers the Bucks that they didn’t have before.

Kuzma is four years younger than Middleton and doesn’t have nearly as many injury concerns.

Middleton missed the first 21 games this season recovering from offseason surgery on both ankles. His minutes have been carefully monitored and he was held out of back-to-backs since returning, save for one time that didn’t work out when he was scoreless on two field-goal attempts in 15 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 27.

The Bucks also get financial relief from this deal because Kuzma is making $8 million less than Middleton this season. He also has a descending contract that has two additional years beyond this season, with salaries of $21.5 million in 2025-26 and $19.4 million in 2026-27.

Middleton is making $31.7 million this season and has a $34 million player option for 2025-26. ESPN’s Bobby Marks added that Kuzma agreed to reduce a portion of his trade bonus to keep the Bucks under the second apron.

While there was a time when Middleton was one of the better two-way wings in the NBA, age and injuries have made him a liability on defense.

Kuzma isn’t anyone’s idea of a defensive stopper, but he can be an effective offensive player in the right role. His numbers this season were the Wizards are dreadful, though that came in a situation with Jordan Poole as the primary ball-handler.

The 29-year-old Kuzma is averaging 15.2 points on 42.0 percent shooting (28.1 percent from three). Putting him in a situation where he only has to be the No. 3 scoring option and won’t attract a lot of attention because defenses have to focus on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard should help improve those numbers.

This isn’t a trade that vaults the Bucks into the top tier of Eastern Conference contenders, but given the limited resources they had available to move, it was probably the best deal they could make at this point while also getting a player who has multiple years left on his contract.