The Washington Wizards are not expected to trade veteran forward Khris Middleton after acquiring him from the Milwaukee Bucks in the Kyle Kuzma deal before Thursday’s deadline, according to The Athletic’s Josh Robbins.
Wizards Intend To Build Around Khris Middleton
The Wizards are reportedly planning to keep Middleton, a three-time All-Star and key contributor to the Bucks’ 2020-21 NBA championship, and build around the Olympic gold medalist.
“Jordan Poole has embraced his own leadership role and has been unselfish on the court, but Middleton is 33 and Poole is only 25. Middleton should be the alpha male in the locker room,” Robbins wrote.
Breaking: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson and a pick swap to the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and second-round draft compensation, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/hCOzqqqUXE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2025
“It’s going to be a tough transition for Middleton to go from title contention in Milwaukee to lottery contention in Washington, but he’s so highly regarded throughout the industry that he seems highly likely to accept that challenge. To his credit, that’s how he’s built.”
In addition to trading Kuzma, the Wizards also sent third-year wing Patrick Baldwin Jr. to Milwaukee and traded veteran center Jonas Valanciunas to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
Washington Seeks To Maximize Its Odds For The 2026 Lottery
A league source informed Robbins of Washington’s long-term strategy after the Middleton trade.
“This path is also about protecting the team’s hard-fought odds for this May’s lottery and for maximizing their odds for the 2026 lottery,” Robbins wrote.
“Not remaining bottomed out over the next season and a half and not attempting to play for lottery combinations would be organizational malpractice. Being able to draft Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper this year or AJ Dybantsa in 2026 would change the franchise’s trajectory overnight.”
Robbins also added that Washington entered Wednesday with the NBA’s 11th-youngest roster, with an average age of 25 years and 305 days, according to Sportradar.
After trading away Kuzma and Valanciunas, the Wizards are even younger with AJ Johnson and Sidy Cissoko now on the roster. Washington might even be able to acquire veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon before the deadline Thursday afternoon.
In 23 games (seven starts) with the Bucks this season, Middleton averaged 12.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 23.2 minutes per contest while shooting a career-best 51.2% from the floor, 40.7% from deep, and 84.8% at the free throw line.
