Now that the NBA trade deadline has passed, we know how teams will look over the remainder of the season. Several teams got significantly better, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, while others, not so much. The Milwaukee Bucks may fit into the latter category depending on how their big acquisition performs .
They traded long-time star Khris Middleton for polarizing former Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and added another polarizing player in Kevin Porter Jr. Those moves left Bucks fans scratching their heads with both players seemingly not moving the needle very much.
As a member of the Wizards, Kuzma was one of the worst players in the NBA this season. Virtually all of his advanced stats are negative, with them far from even the league average. His 48.8% true shooting is also nearly 10% lower than the league average. None of those things made him an appealing player to try and acquire, though to his credit, his numbers have been slightly better since joining the Bucks in a small sample size.
Did the Milwaukee Bucks make a mistake by trading for Kyle Kuzma?
Since the Bucks had traded most of their assets in the Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard deals, they had few options at the deadline. Kuzma may have been their most realistic trade target, and his poor play this season meant that they may have actually gotten him at a discount.
On paper, Kuzma's size and scoring ability should help the Bucks, something that they've missed with Middleton struggling to stay healthy. If Kuzma can find a semblance of the offensive level that he played at last season, averaging 22.2 points and 6.6 assists, then he might be a solid addition.
It would be a worthwhile gamble for the Bucks, and the early returns have at least been encouraging with him posting 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds with Milwaukee thus far. Overall, the Bucks made a big gamble at the trade deadline moves to try and improve their roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
While they had to do something, time will tell if they made the right decisions to help them win games and compete in a tough Eastern Conference. If Kuzma can make an impact, then the Bucks could conceivably climb up to fourth in the East, have home court in the first round, and set themselves up for a potentially deep playoff run.