The Milwaukee Bucks have been desperate to improve their supporting cast around Giannis Antetokounmpo over recent years. One of the moves they hoped would help fix that problem was adding former Los Angeles Lakers champion Kyle Kuzma.
Milwaukee acquired Kuzma from the Washington Wizards last season in exchange for a package built around beloved franchise figure Khris Middleton. There was some initial promise to be found.
Upon his arrival in Milwaukee, Kuzma averaged 14.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 31.8 minutes per game to close out the 2024-25 regular season. The Bucks forward shot 45.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The 2025 NBA Playoffs told a different story. Kuzma struggled mightily, only managing to score 5.8 points in 20.4 minutes per game during the Bucks' first round humiliation against the Indiana Pacers. The version of the former Laker that has been seen in 2025-26 looks closer to that player.
Kyle Kuzma’s struggles in Milwaukee are turning ugly — quickly
The Bucks already had one major gamble turn sour when the Damian Lillard experiment proved to be a failure and they were forced to awkwardly pivot to Myles Turner. Taking a shot on Kuzma and failing would add yet another misstep to the list of reasons why Giannis may want to finally pull the plug on his time in Milwaukee in the near future.
Antetokounmpo was already the focus of plenty rumor mill gossip in the summer of 2025. That chatter will not go away if the Bucks continue to fall short of putting him in a real position to compete for an NBA championship.
The Bucks are certainly wanting to take advantage of a weakened Eastern Conference in 2025-26. With several big-time stars absent from the competition, Milwaukee could find themselves as a dark horse contender to reach the NBA Finals.
They will need much better performances out of Kuzma to do that. The former first round pick enjoyed a successful stint as a good player for a bad team when he played for the Wizards.
Kuzma averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game during his time in Washington. That production earned him an opportunity to play meaningful basketball once more. Thus far, the contributions have not matched the expectations.
Kuzma is in the second last year of his four-year, $90 million contract. Without a quick turnaround, the once highly-touted prospect in Los Angeles is quickly heading for a veteran minimum deal in 2027.