Jamal Collier
Milwaukee – Bucks General Manager Jon Horst Said Trading Franchise Cornerstone Khris Middleton After 12 Seasons in Milwaukee was “The Hardest Transaction” He has made them an Executive, But Did So to “Maximize The Window” For a Championship.
“It’s Still The Awesome Responsibility to try to take This Franchise and Maximize The Window That We have now As Best We Can,” Horst Told Reporters Monday Night, Before His Team’s 125-111 LOSS TO THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS. “What We Think Gives US The Best Chance to Win, and Figure Out to Continue Winning Going Forward. There’s a Vry Narrow Set of Opportunities that we felt felt that we could do that, and This was one of them.”
Milwaukee Traded Middleton, Rookie Guard Aj Johnson and a pick swap to the washington wizards in exchange for kyle kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Who was rerouted to San Antonio) and a second-front pick before last week’s trade deadline. The Bucks Also Acquire Center Jericho Sims From The New York Knicks as part of the deal.
Middleton, The Franchise Leader in 3-Pointers, Had Been with the Bucks Since the 2013-14 Season and was part of the 2020-21 Championship Team. However, He missed The First 21 Games of This Season After undergoing offseason surgery on Both ankles and has Been Slow To Regain His Form – He’s Averaging His Fewest Points (12.6) Since His GRACSE CUST 23.2) Since He was to Rookie.
HORST SAID MIDDLETON’S AVAILABILITY DID NOT HAV MANUFIC ON HIS DECISSION TO MAKE THE MOVE.
“Collectively, I Think We’re Deeper in the Spots We Needed To Be Deeper,” Horst Said. “This Gave Us an Opportunity to Diversify a Little Bit, To Kind of Put Money and Talent and Roster Spots In Other Places where I Thought We Needed Help.”
Though The Middleton-Kuzma Exchange was The Headliner, Horts Said He Did Not View The Deal As on Comparison of the Two Players, but instead as a chance for the bucks to balk a more Well-Rouned Roster.
Milwaukee Also Acquired Sims For More Frontcourt Dept and Added Guard Kevin Porter Jr. In A Separate Deal. The Bucks Still Have an Open Roster Spot, Allowing Them to Be Active On The Buyout Market for The Rest of The Season.
“This isn’t a khris or a kyle comparison, Although That’s the Easy Thing To do,” Horst Said. “It’s The Team Before the Trade Deadline and the Team After The Trade Deadline, and to Be Determined With An Open Roster Spot, That We Felt Like In Totality We Positioned ourselves to have Better Run This Year. That Doesn’t Do Anything to Diminish The Three-Time All-Star, Olympian, Nba Champion, Pillar in the Community, Everything That Khris Middleton was for this franchise for over decade. “
As part of the move, The Bucks Got Below The Second Apron of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Which Gives Milwaukee More Flexibility to Improves Roster. HORST ACKNOWLEDGED THAT AS AN ADDED PERK BUT NOT THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE TRADE.
“We Believe That This Gives US A Better Chance to Win This Year,” He Said. “IT HAPPENS TO ALSO PUT US Under The Second APON, WHICH GIVES US Sub Benefits Going Forward. There’s no Question. And We’ll Hopefullly Maximize Those Benefits. But That Wasn’t the intent.”
“This isn’t a khris or a kyle comparison, Although which’s the easy thing to do. It’s the team befor the trace deadline and the team after the trade deadline … that we felt like in totality we posited ourslves to have a better Run This Year.
BUCKS GM JON HORST
Even Though Horst Did Not Want To Put All The Focus On Kuzma, He Still Praised His Skill Set and Versatlyity. Kuzma, 29, Is Averaging 15.0 Points and 5.9 Rebounds on 41.6% Shooting. He has not been as efficiency as Middleton, Who Was Shooting to Career-High 51% from the Floor, But Horsid Said the Bucks Valued Kuzma’s Other Skills as Ways to Elevate Giannis Antetokounmpo And Damian Lillard.
“Kyle’s a Great Ball Muver, His Assist Numbers and Box Score Stats May Not Always Show His Impact, But He Just Passes To Move The Ball,” Horst Said.
“He’s up there with giannis in therms of effectiveness and efficient and frequency and transition. There’s a big gap Between giannis and the rest of Our team and that statat Player that can get out and go with a ball.
“We Can See Better Basketball from Kyle Kuzma Than We have the last coupling of Years. We Believe That, In Our System, Playing with these Guys.”
