Wizards Forward Khris Middleton - Photo by Washington Wizards
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – The Milwaukee Bucks will host the Washington Wizards tonight at Fiserv Forum, and one of the franchise’s all-time greatest players will be making his return to Milwaukee after being traded to the nation’s capital earlier this month.
Khris Middleton, who spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski after the Wizards shoot around on Thursday afternoon, said he took a drive to clear his head after being informed that his time with the Bucks had come to an end saying, “It was perfect timing, as weird as that is to say. I got a three-and-half-hour drive to drive by myself and just process it all. So I think it was very healthy just for me to go through that little bit of time by myself and some quiet time to get everything out, think through everything and figure out what the new normal is and figure out what’s next, and tell myself that, been there for 11, 12 years, that this isn’t the end of my career.”
“I’m still playing basketball. I have to keep telling myself that because Milwaukee had meant so much to me and my family and my career that I had to keep reminding myself that nah, I still have a job to do,” Middleton continued.
When asked about what emotions he was feeling knowing that he was leaving a team and city that he spent 12 years with he said, “I mean, you go through a lot. You go through for sure, why the f— are they trading me? Of course. Then you go through damn, they really traded me. Denial, like there’s no way. Sadness.”
Middleton and 2024 first-round pick AJ Johnson was traded to the Wizards back on February 5th in return for forward Kyle Kuzma as the Bucks looked to make some major changes to their rotation heading into the second half of the season. Kuzma has played well for Milwaukee since the trade scoring at least 12 or more points and at least seven rebounds in each game he’s played in.
Middleton, who is yet to play in a game for the Wizards, was averaging 12.6 points and 4.4 assists for the Bucks before the trade after averaging more than fifteen points per game consistently last season.
Friday night’s tip-off between the Bucks and Wizards can be heard on 93.9 The Game at 6 p.m. CST.
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