Kyle Kuzma trade may be inevitable for Milwaukee Bucks

The team could make a change ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma warms up before game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks are inching closer to the trade deadline, which is just over two weeks away.

If the Bucks want to improve their roster, they are going to have to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them. CBS Sports writer Sam Quinn believes Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma is one of the likelier players to be traded ahead of the deadline.

"Assume Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner are staying. The Bucks have only one more player making above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. That's Kuzma. If they want to reel in a big fish or even a medium fish, his $22.4 million salary is going to be necessary," Quinn wrote.

"Is that advisable? Kuzma hasn't played well in Milwaukee, but his salary declines next season and his contract expires after that. Given their lack of draft capital, Milwaukee's likeliest path to adding talent would be using the Kuzma money to take on a longer, pricier contract attached to a better player. Milwaukee's problems are too big to be solved with a single such move. In the end, such a trade would probably only leave the Bucks in more dire financial straits in the near future."

Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma warms up before the game against the San Antonio Spurs. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Kuzma could be dealt ahead of trade deadline

It isn't a guarantee that Kuzma will be traded by the Bucks, but it is a certainty that his name will be floating around in trade rumors. The Bucks want to make a splash, and the best way to do that is acquiring a player that costs a pretty penny. Kuzma is the player making the most money that could possibly be dealt during this trade cycle.

This doesn't mean the Bucks should trade Kyle Kuzma or have to trade him. They just have to listen to offers for him and decide whether or not they are worth investing in.

Kuzma is averaging 12.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Bucks so far this season, which is a step below where he was a year ago with the Washington Wizards and Bucks.

Kuzma has not been the player the Bucks hoped he would be when they traded Khris Middleton to acquire him. That means if the Bucks find an opportunity to make an upgrade on the wing, they should absolutely go for it.

Kuzma and the Bucks are back in action tomorrow against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT inside the Fiserv Forum.