Khris Middleton, the talented forward recently signed by the Washington Wizards, has made headlines by announcing that he will not be wearing his old jersey number from the Milwaukee Bucks. During his time with the Bucks,

GM Jon Horst explained why his deadline moves, especially parting with a franchise staple, give Milwaukee a better chance to win a title.

Kyle Kuzma is headed to the Bucks in a 4-team swap that sends veteran sharpshooter Khris Middleton to Washington.

Wizards plan, for now, is to hold on to Khris Middleton, who played with Malcolm Brogdon in Milwaukee. Move gives Washington a little financial flexibility and frees up even more playing time/responsibility for its young wings. Plus they can take a flyer on AJ Johnson.

The Milwaukee Bucks are trading NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards and getting Kyle Kuzma back in the deal.

But Kuzma has taken quite a dive this year. He’s hit a career-low 28.1 percent from three and 42 percent from the field. He’s down from 22.2 ppg to 15.2. Bleh. He’s got over $40 million left on his deal through 2027, while Middleton has a player option for 2025-26.

Khris Middleton, who helped the Bucks win the 2021 NBA championship and was a mainstay who'd been around for as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo, is now a Washington Wizard, which already feels weird to type out. Here's the full 3-team deal: Wizards receive: Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson and a 2028 first-round pick swap (from Bucks)

Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst says trading Khris Middleton was the toughest decision of his career because of everything the three-time All-Star had done for the franchise

For the first time since the deadline, the Bucks GM discussed trading Khris Middleton and acquiring Kyle Kuzma, Jericho Sims and Kevin Porter Jr.