For now, the Milwaukee Bucks will most likely have to sit on their hands when it comes to Kyle Kuzma trade talk. There just isn't a feasible way to unload him. That could change by this season's trade deadline, though, and based on intel from insider Jake Fischer, the Toronto Raptors and RJ Barrett could serve as the perfect partner.
Bucks would clearly benefit from Kuzma-for-Barrett exchange
Fischer, who was speaking on an Insider Notebook via Bleacher Report, expects the Raptors to be buyers this February, saying they could dangle Barrett as a trade chip to bring back other win-now pieces. By dealing Barrett, Toronto could look to acquire players who better fit its currently ball-dominant roster. And the Milwaukee Bucks could be beneficiaries.
For Milwaukee, the immediate upside is obvious. They have a matching salary in Kyle Kuzma, and Barrett would bring superior playmaking skills and secondary scoring as an appropriately sized small forward - a clear starting option. Like Kuzma, he could be more efficient - career 44.1/34.6/69.7 percent splits - but his other offensive abilities help make up for it in a way that Kuzma cannot.
If a Barrett for Kuzma swap seems too good to be true, that's because it is. Not only would the Bucks have to sacrifice draft capital, the transaction would almost surely have to be at least a three-team deal if the Raptors are indeed in position to buy, as Fischer believes they will be. That's not a deal breaker; it just makes matters harder.
In exchange for picks or young talent, this Team X would be the one to absorb Kuzma's contract and send Toronto players they could actually use. The Raptors do not need another forward like Kuzma, let alone a poor-shooting one. The Milwaukee Bucks, meanwhile, would get Barrett.
Assuming a third team could be involved, Milwaukee's main concern would be how much is too much to give up for Barrett. Last season in Toronto, the former No. 3 overall pick averaged 21.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. That level of playmaking is more than Kuzma ever provided in Washington, but, to be fair, their career numbers are eerily similar in every category.
Is Barrett trending up, on an opposite trajectory to Kuzma's, or is he just a boosted version of the same player, four years younger and 6-foot-6 instead of 6-foot-9?
Misgivings aside, he is definitely a better fit for the Bucks' roster. If they have a shot at a top-four seed, going all-in to optimize the team in February could make sense. All the same, sending out that 2031 first-round pick as anything but a swap would be painful and probably an overpay. It might also be the inevitable, bare-minimum cost to move Kuzma any time before next offseason. Once he turns into an expiring contract, he will be a more palatable burden for the receiving team to take on.
In order to get rid of him before then, the Bucks' best hope is that Kuzma rehabs his value enough to make him a net neutral by the deadline, mitigating the extra assets the team will have to include in a trade.