Kyle Kuzma’s tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, much like his NBA career, has been full of ups and downs. It’s been anything but smooth sailing.
In a move that never looked great from the start, the Bucks acquired Kuzma, along with Jericho Sims and a 2025 second-round pick, at the 2025 trade deadline. In exchange, they sent out Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Delon Wright and a 2028 first-round pick swap. What a disaster of a deal.
In 102 games with the Bucks, Kuzma has averaged 13.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. All three numbers are well below his career averages despite him still being in the back half of his prime.
He’s never looked completely comfortable in Milwaukee, even when Giannis Antetokounmpo was on the court. His confidence has seemingly waxed and waned along with his role.
Now, Kuzma is entering the final year of a four-year deal that will pay him $20.5 million this season. Milwaukee would love to move him as an expiring contract, but doing so right now would likely require attaching additional assets just to entice another team.
That could change if Kuzma can rehabilitate his value on the court.
Without further ado, here is one realistic and one ambitious goal for Kuzma in the 2026-27 NBA season.
Realistic goal: Return to his career averages
It’s sad, but this is where I’m at with Kuzma. I don’t have much optimism for what he can bring to the Bucks at this stage.
For his career, he’s averaging 16.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in just under 31 minutes per game. Milwaukee could have that much playing time available if younger players like Nate Ament and Ousmane Dieng aren’t ready to take on larger roles.
The concern is that Kuzma may be entering the early stages of a steep decline. If that’s the case, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he’ll remain a meaningful NBA rotation player.
Still, getting back to his career averages would represent a meaningful bounce-back season. It wouldn’t erase what’s happened during his time in Milwaukee, but it would at least show he still has enough left in the tank to help a team.
At this point, simply stopping the downward trend would qualify as progress.
Ambitious goal: Rebuild his value enough for Milwaukee to trade him for a meaningful future asset
From the Bucks’ perspective, the ideal scenario would probably be for their younger players to earn Kuzma’s minutes and gradually push him out of the rotation.
However, since this series is focused on individual goals rather than team preferences, Kuzma’s ambitious goal should be slightly different: earn enough playing time, play well enough and rebuild enough value for Milwaukee to make a positive trade.
There’s no exact formula for what kind of performance would restore Kuzma’s value around the league. Fortunately, it only takes one interested team to make a deal.
For Kuzma, the path probably starts with doing less.
He doesn’t need to dominate the ball or shoulder a heavy playmaking burden. Milwaukee has plenty of guards capable of handling those responsibilities. Instead, Kuzma should focus on playing off the ball, attacking mismatches, cutting into open space and taking advantage of the opportunities the defense gives him.
That could help improve his efficiency while allowing him to concentrate more energy on the other areas of his game.
From there, consistent effort on defense and the glass could go a long way toward reminding contenders why a versatile forward with Kuzma’s size and experience once carried real value around the league.
The Bucks probably aren’t getting a first-round pick for him. However, if Kuzma can play well enough to bring back an intriguing young player or a couple of second-round picks without Milwaukee attaching additional assets, they should take the deal and run.
For Kuzma, that would qualify as a successful revenge tour. For the Bucks, it would be an unexpected opportunity to turn one of their most disappointing acquisitions into something useful for the future.
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