Wizards add Middleton, prospects in trades for Kuzma, Valanciunas

The Washington Wizards were active ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, sending forward Kyle Kuzma to the Milwaukee Bucks and center Jonas Valanciunas to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday in exchange for prospects and draft picks. 

Through the trade with Sacramento, Washington added second-year player Sidy Cissoko and a pair of second-round picks. The deal with the Bucks sent All-Star forward Khris Middleton and rookie guard A.J. Johnson to the Wizards. Washington also sent a second-round pick and forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. to Milwaukee.

Kuzma agreed to reduce the trade bonus in his contract to keep the Bucks below the second apron, allowing them more flexibility with the salary cap in the future.

The exchanges, which arrived just a day before the NBA’s trade deadline, didn’t shock the NBA world. The Wizards were expected to trade Kuzma and Valanciunas. The veterans, aged 29 and 32, respectively, didn’t align with Washington’s future-focused timeline. The duo is expected to contribute to potential playoff runs with their new squads.

Middleton, 33, has averaged just 12.6 points per game this season, his lowest mark since his rookie year. The Texas A&M product has a player option for the 2025-26 season and could become a free agent this summer. 

But Middleton could be on the move sooner than that. Some experts around the league believe the Wizards could offer him a buyout, allowing him to sign with a potential playoff team, or trade him away.

This week’s moves are all about building for the future in Washington. Though Middleton dominated headlines as an NBA champion and three-time All-Star, he wasn’t the Wizards’ most valuable acquisition. 

That honor likely belongs to Johnson, the No. 23 pick in last year’s draft. The 20-year-old has spent most of the season in the G League after playing professionally in Australia last year. 

He’s a raw prospect, still struggling with turnovers and finding his footing as a scorer, but Johnson still boasts a first-round pedigree. 

In 10 games with the Wisconsin Herd, the California native averaged 13.7 points and 4.8 assists with 11 steals. 

Cissoko is a similarly unheralded prospect. A second-round pick in 2023, the French native has bounced back and forth between the G League during his first two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.

Johnson and Cissoko join a brigade of youngsters in the District with fellow rookies Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington. Second-year star Bilal Coulibaly rounds out the group of under-21 prospects on the Wizards. 

“We’re still focused on deconstructing and laying that foundation,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said before the season about the team’s rebuild. “And I think that’s important to remind everyone that we’re still early [in the process].”

Those young players, who can earn plenty of playing time on the 8-41 Wizards, will likely be safe ahead of the trade deadline. The rest of the roster’s future is much murkier.

Guard Malcolm Brogdon, 32, is in a similar spot as Kuzma and Valanciunas. The current stage of his career doesn’t align with the Wizards’ future-focused approach. He also joined Washington in an offseason trade but has been hampered by injuries. 

Brogdon is also slated to become a free agent this offseason. To build for the future, Dawkins could look to ship the guard to a contending squad that’s looking for another distributor before the postseason. 

Washington could also find itself in the middle of a blockbuster trade as an mediator — a third party to maintain the balance sheet in a deal centered on a superstar heading to a contender.

That’s how the rebuilding Utah Jazz joined the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks. Utah gained a pair of second-round picks by taking on Jalen Hood-Schifino’s contract from the Lakers. 

With plenty of cap space and seemingly no chance of contending this year, the Wizards could play a similar role in potential trades for superstars like Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler or Bradley Beal — who have all been the subject of trade rumors —  before the hectic trade deadline passes.