The 2025 NBA trade deadline is shaping up to be one of the most significant and influential periods in Association history. The Los Angeles Lakers have taken center stage in that regard, both directly and indirectly, with no move bigger than their acquisition of superstar Luka Doncic.
The indirect connections have begun to take hold, as well, with a former Lakers starter and NBA champion the latest to be moved in a blockbuster deal.
The Lakers' 2019-20 championship team played home to a number of late-career veterans who fans are more likely to instantly remember. Several contributors were either entering or approaching their respective primes, however, including former first-round draft pick Kyle Kuzma.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Milwaukee Bucks have completed a trade for Kuzma that will give him a shot at a second career championship.
Breaking: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson and a pick swap to the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and second-round draft compensation, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/hCOzqqqUXE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2025
Perhaps even more significantly: Kuzma will escape the depths of basketball purgatory by moving from the lowly Washington Wizards to the contending Bucks.
Former Lakers champion Kyle Kuzma traded to the Milwaukee Bucks
Since being traded by the Lakers to the Wizards, Kuzma, 29, has emerged as one of the most productive and well-rounded offensive players in the NBA. Over the past four seasons, he's averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 three-point field goals made per game.
There are fair concerns over how Kuzma will fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but his talent has undoubtedly been wasted in Washington.
The Wizards won 35 games during each of Kuzma's first two seasons with the franchise. They then went 15-67 during an abysmal 2023-24 campaign, and have turned in an 8-41 record through their first 49 games in 2024-25.
Kuzma will now receive the ultimate change of scenery as he joins Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, likely hoping to recreate the Bucks' championship success from 2021.
Kuzma helping Milwaukee win a title in 2024-25 would be a full-circle moment for the once vaunted Lakers prospect. He helped Los Angeles capture its 17th championship in 2019-20, appearing in all 21 of their postseason games.
That includes the 17 points that he scored to help close out the Houston Rockets, and a 19-point performance during the NBA Finals.
Back on the West Coast, the Lakers will be looking to realize their own dreams of a championship. They're 29-19, just 4.0 games bask of the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and retooling in an unprecedented manner by replacing Anthony Davis with Doncic—who was playing in the NBA Finals roughly eight months ago.
Perhaps the full-circle story will bear fruit as Los Angeles and Milwaukee meet in the NBA Finals for the first time ever in 2025.