Kyle Kuzma has spent much of his Bucks tenure fighting the current. He’s been moved in and out of the starting five, benched without much warning, and generally asked to adjust on the fly. For a player who has not exactly enjoyed steady footing in Milwaukee, the next season may finally hand him something closer to home: a real chance to play power forward.
That matters because Kuzma’s best stretches have come when he’s been used at the four. Basketball-Reference shows that with the Los Angeles Lakers, he logged 74 percent of his minutes at power forward, 21 percent at small forward and five percent at center. During his three-and-a-half seasons with the Washington Wizards, he was at power forward 84 percent of the time, with five percent at small forward and 11 percent at center.
Milwaukee was different. Kuzma actually spent more of his Bucks minutes at small forward, at 49 percent, than at power forward, where he was used 48 percent of the time. That wasn’t the only reason his production dipped, but it likely didn’t help.
Playing out of position put him in tougher defensive assignments, often against quicker or more agile wings. On the other end, the fit was awkward as well, especially because Giannis Antetokounmpo’s presence forced Kuzma into a role that didn’t always let him attack the low block the way he prefers. Two non-shooters sharing the same starting lineup made that even harder.
The setup in Milwaukee has changed. Giannis Antetokounmpo is gone, and Bobby Portis has departed too.
That leaves the Bucks with a thin group at power forward, and Kuzma sits right in the middle of it. Ousmane Dieng could be used at small forward, Pete Nance might not even make the roster, and the two rookies - Nate Ament and Bogoljub Markovic - are still unproven.
In other words, the path is wide open.
No one is suggesting that simply sliding back to the four will turn Kuzma into an All-Star. But after the instability he’s dealt with in Milwaukee, the combination of a new coach, a larger role and a return to his natural position gives him a real shot at a bounce-back season.
In Other News...
Former Bucks Veteran Just Added To An Unwanted Debate Around Milwaukee
Danilo Gallinaris comments this week brought an old Bucks season back into view, and not in a flattering way. The veteran forward said he regretted choosing a one-year deal with Milwaukee for the 2023-24 campaign instead of taking a two-year offer from the Clippers, a choice that now sits alongside a Bucks season that never really found its footing and ended with an early playoff exit.
For Milwaukee, the remark is less about Gallinari himself than the broader conversation it revives around that roster and how quickly expectations can sour. He played in 20 games for the Bucks and has not been back in the NBA since, but his reflection adds another layer to a year the team would rather leave behind, especially when a former addition is openly wondering if a different path would have served him better. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Face A Myles Turner Dilemma That Could Change Everything
The Bucks went into this stretch hoping Myles Turner would give Giannis Antetokounmpo the kind of frontcourt help that can steady a contender, but the fit is no longer as simple as the signing looked at the time. Milwaukee has reportedly had a hard time finding trade interest, and the deeper issue is one every team eventually confronts when its roster starts to bend between two timelines: a veteran addition built for the present can look a little less natural when the rest of the group is getting younger around him.
Kelel Ware is part of why this conversation has turned so interesting. In theory, the pairing makes a lot of basketball sense, with Turners shooting and rim protection complementing Wares rebounding and size in a way that could let Milwaukee play more modern, perimeter-oriented lineups without giving up interior defense. The question is whether the Bucks want to keep chasing that kind of balance or keep searching for a cleaner path forward with a roster that now has to answer for both now and later. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Rollins Is Putting Real Pressure On The Bucks Backcourt Plan
Ryan Rollins has gone from intriguing depth piece to someone the Bucks have to take seriously in their long-term backcourt plans. After a breakout season, he is still on a relatively low contract, which makes his rise even more valuable for a Milwaukee roster that is always trying to balance talent, flexibility and future costs.
The timing also puts pressure on the rest of the picture, especially with Tyler Herro moving toward a much more expensive next deal. Rollins is likely to decline his player option next summer, and if he keeps trending upward, the Bucks could be looking at a real decision point where keeping the cheaper, ascending guard starts to make more sense than committing big money elsewhere. If that gap keeps widening, Milwaukee may have to weigh whether a trade before an extension becomes the cleaner path to save money and recoup draft assets. [Read more 🡒]