Khris Middleton, the talented forward recently signed by the Washington Wizards, has made headlines by announcing that he will not be wearing his old jersey number from the Milwaukee Bucks .

GM Jon Horst explained why his deadline moves, especially parting with a franchise staple, give Milwaukee a better chance to win a title.

Wizards plan, for now, is to hold on to Khris Middleton, who played with Malcolm Brogdon in Milwaukee. Move gives Washington a little financial flexibility and frees up even more playing time/responsibility for its young wings. Plus they can take a flyer on AJ Johnson.

But Kuzma has taken quite a dive this year. He’s hit a career-low 28.1 percent from three and 42 percent from the field. He’s down from 22.2 ppg to 15.2. Bleh. He’s got over $40 million left on his deal through 2027, while Middleton has a player option for 2025-26.

Kyle Kuzma is headed to the Bucks in a 4-team swap that sends veteran sharpshooter Khris Middleton to Washington.

Johnson was Milwaukee's first-round selection (No. 23 overall) in last June's NBA Draft and played sparingly for the Bucks, averaging 2.9 points and 1.0 rebounds in seven games. He's spent most of the year in the G-League where he averaged 13.4 points on 43% shooting with 3.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst says trading Khris Middleton was the toughest decision of his career because of everything the three-time All-Star had done for the franchise

For the first time since the deadline, the Bucks GM discussed trading Khris Middleton and acquiring Kyle Kuzma, Jericho Sims and Kevin Porter Jr.