Jon Horst: Khris Middleton exchanges about maximizing the Bucks window

Milwaukee – Bucks general manager Jon Horst said the cornerstone of the Khris Middleton commercial franchise after 12 seasons in Milwaukee was “the toughest transaction” he has done as an executive, but he did it to “maximize the window “For a championship.

“It is still the incredible responsibility to try to take this franchise and maximize the window that we have the best we can,” Horst told journalists on Monday night, before the defeat of his team 125-111 against the Golden State Warriors . “What we believe gives us the best opportunity to win and discover how to continue winning in the future. There is a very limited set of opportunities that we feel we could do that, and this was one of them.”

Milwaukee exchanged Middleton, the rookie guard AJ Johnson and an exchange of selection to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. (who was redirected to San Antonio) and a second round selection before the deadline for trade of last week. The Bucks also acquired the Jericho Sims Center of the New York Knicks as part of the agreement.

Middleton, the leader of the franchise in triples, had been with the Bucks since the 2013-14 season and was part of the 2020-21 championship team. However, the first 21 games of this season was lost after undergoing low seasonal surgery on both ankles and has taken to recover its form: it is averaging its least number of points (12.6) since its first season with the Bucks and Bucks and He was playing his lower minutes (23.2) since he was a rookie.

Horst said Middleton’s availability did not have much impact on his decision to take the movement.

“Collectively, I think we are deeper in the places we needed to be deeper,” said Horst. “This gave us the opportunity to diversify a bit, to put money, talent and list places where I thought we needed help.”

Although the exchange of Middleton-Kuzma was the head of the poster, Horst said that he did not see the agreement as a comparison of the two players, but as an opportunity for Bucks to build a more complete list.

Milwaukee also acquired Sims to obtain more depth of the front court and the aggregate guard Kevin Porter Jr. in a separate agreement. Bucks still have a place on the open list, which allows them to be active in the shopping market for the rest of the season.

“This is not a comparison of Khris or Kyle, although that is easy to do,” said Horst. “It is the team before the exchange deadline and the equipment after the exchange dead He does nothing to decrease the three-time All-Star, Olympic, NBA champion, Pilar in the community, everything Khris Middleton was for this franchise for more than a decade. “

As part of the movement, the Bucks put themselves below the second apron of the collective bargaining agreement, which gives Milwaukee more flexibility to improve their list. Horst acknowledged that as an additional benefit but not as the driving force behind trade.

“We believe this gives us a better opportunity to win this year,” he said. “It also puts us under the second apron, which gives us some benefits in the future. There is no doubt. And we hope to maximize those benefits. But that was not the intention.”

“This is not a comparison of Khris or Kyle, although that is easy to do. It is the team before the exchange deadline and the equipment after the exchange deadline … that we feel that in totality we position us to Have a better run this year.

BUCKS GM JON HORST

Although Horst didn’t want to focus on Kuzma, he still praised his set of skills and versatility. Kuzma, 29, averages 15.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 41.6% of shots. It has not been as efficient as Middleton, who was shooting 51% in his career from the floor, but Horst said the Bucks valued the other Kuzma skills as ways to raise Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

“Kyle is a large ball engine, its assistance number and cash score statistics may not always show its impact, but it only happens to move the ball,” said Horst.

“It is at the height of Giannis in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and frequency and transition. There is a great gap between giannis and the rest of our team and that statistic … we are at our best … playing quickly. Another player than You can go out and go with a ball.

“We can see a better Kyle Kuzma basketball than in recent years. We believe that, in our system, playing with these types.”