It is almost a foregone conclusion that the Milwaukee Bucks will do something in the next few weeks leading up to the 2023 NBA trade deadline.
What exactly they will do is the big question. Everyone has their own differing opinions on what the Bucks should do and who they should trade for. At the moment, the likeliest targets for the Bucks appear to be Jae Crowder or Bojan Bogdanovic. However, that has not stopped some fans, including Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, from speculating about who else the team could go after.
Bleacher Report predicts the Milwaukee Bucks will trade for Kyle Kuzma
In his article involving bold predictions for the 2023 trade deadline, Favale put the Bucks down as the team to acquire Kyle Kuzma of the Washington Wizards. He cited Milwaukee’s struggles on the offensive end and the need for a quality fifth starter in crunch time as two of his reasonings. There have been some trade murmurs regarding Kuzma over the past few weeks, and if the Wizards are looking to move him, the Bucks would be smart to try and make Favale’s prediction a reality.
Offensively, Kuzma is having the best year of his career by averaging 21.4 points per contest while shooting 46.1 percent from the field. The forward has been on a tear, and he could be the piece the Bucks need to give their offense a significant boost. Without Khris Middleton, the team has had an extremely difficult time staying consistent for most of the season, and adding a possible 20-point scorer could certainly help. At 33.7 percent this season, Kuzma’s outside shooting has not been at an all-time high, but at the end of the day, the Bucks need any form of offense they can get.
Kuzma would also be a tremendous addition defensively. The 6-foot-9 forward can defend many positions, and he could be exactly what the Bucks need in their quest to get a big wing defender. When the Bucks play teams with opposing wing scorers, having a piece like Kuzma would be just what the doctor ordered. On that same note, he would help improve Milwaukee’s versatility, as a handful of different lineup combinations could be unlocked by adding Kuzma to the mix. Putting a player like Kuzma in lineups alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and more would help this team become even more versatile and formidable defensively.
Another key factor that makes Kuzma compelling is his age. He’s currently 27 years old and would give the Bucks a rare young piece to add to their core. The team could badly use a dose of youth to give them a boost, and Kuzma fits the billing to a tee. He would be a great piece to keep around for the foreseeable future, but there would be some questions about Milwaukee’s ability to retain the forward beyond this season. Kuzma has made it clear that he will decline his player option during the offseason and seek a hefty raise, one that could be too steep for the Bucks. Nevertheless, that should not stop them from doing their homework on the young power forward.
If the Milwaukee Bucks truly think Kyle Kuzma is the piece they need, they should not hesitate to go after him over the next month. He’s one of the many targets who would make sense.
Stay tuned to see if this bold prediction potentially becomes true before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.