While the Milwaukee Bucks have seen Jevon Carter and Joe Ingles sign with different teams at the beginning of free agency, they were able to retain on of the most coveted free agents on the market: three-time All-Star Khris Middleton.
Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton has agreed on a new three-year, $102 million deal to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, his agents Mike Lindeman and Jeff Schwartz of @excelbasketball tell ESPN. Middleton keeps franchise a championship contender with his return. Player option. pic.twitter.com/o2E7vXXQj8
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2023
As Adrian Wojnarowski says in his tweet, the deal is for three years and $102 million, or $34 million per season. Middleton previously turned down a $40.3 million player option for the 2023-23 season.
The Milwaukee Bucks Were Always Going to Keep Khris Middleton
The Bucks were able to sign Middleton to a larger contract without worrying about going over the salary cap due to owning his Bird rights. Had Middleton gone elsewhere in free agency (Sacramento was reportedly trying to woo him away), the Bucks would not have been able to use this money on any other player.
Remember, the Bucks front office invited just two players to their final dinner meeting where Adrian Griffin was hired as head coach. One was Giannis Antetokounmpo. The other was Middleton. His inclusion in this meeting was a clear indicator early on that Milwaukee intended to keep the three-time All-Star.
Middleton was the Bucks’ best player in the playoffs last season, despite averaging just 15.1 points in a season hampered by injury. However, he will be fully healthy going forward and will again be a legitimate second-option next to Giannis.
Remember, the last season in which he was fully healthy, Middleton averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while making the All-Star team. He shot 44/37/89 from the field.
During the 2019-2020 season, Middleton fell just short of an historic 50/40/90 season when he averaged 20.9 points while shooting 49/41/91 from the floor.
Already the Bucks’ all-time leader in three-pointers made, Middleton will have the next three seasons to add to his record.
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