More Rumors in this Storyline

1 month ago – via Yossi Gozlan @ HoopsHype

Khris Middleton, who has outplayed the near-maximum contract he signed in 2019, will become extension-eligible this offseason. He could extend for up to three years, projected at $152.5 million, provided that he exercises his $40.4 million player option in 2023-24. He would be able to sign this extension only during the offseason.

3 years ago – via NBA.com

The Milwaukee Bucks have re-signed free agent All-Star forward Khris Middleton.

3 years ago – via NBA.com

“Khris is a critical piece of our core,” said Bucks General Manager Jon Horst. “As an All-Star, Khris was an integral part of us winning 60 games and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. He has also established himself as a leader on our team both on the court and in the community. We’re thrilled Khris is staying in Milwaukee and look forward to even more success together.”

3 years ago – via Twitter wojespn

Adrian Wojnarowski: Once free agency opens at 6 PM, All-Star Khris Middleton plans to return to the Milwaukee Bucks on a five-year, $178M contract, league sources tell ESPN. The deal is expected to include a player option on final year.

3 years ago – via Twitter JShawNBA

JD Shaw: Statement from Bucks general manager Jon Horst: “We are engaged in free agent negotiations with Khris Middleton. We intend to enter into a player contract with Khris once the moratorium period has ended.”

3 years ago – via ESPN

Khris Middleton: But I am not done. We are not done. The goal wasn’t to reach the Eastern Conference finals — we are on a mission to win a championship. I want to be a part of that mission, which is why I am staying here in Milwaukee for the next five years. It wasn’t so long ago that we were a 15-win team (2013-14). When you dream of playing in the NBA, those aren’t the seasons you fantasize about. I was 22 years old and it was tough.

3 years ago – via Twitter wojespn

Adrian Wojnarowski: Free agent Khris Middleton has agreed to a five-year, $178M deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, Excel Sports agent Mike Lindeman tells ESPN. Deal includes a player option.

3 years ago – via Twitter BobbyMarks42

Bobby Marks: The Khris Middleton contract is a good example that you do not need to get drafted in the first round. The $178M contract is the richest for a second-round pick in NBA history.

3 years ago – via ESPN

Milwaukee had $13.2M in available cap space before free agency began. Lopez contract could start at $12.1M and still leave the team with $2M in room to sign a player to a 2+ year contract. Bird rights allows Milwaukee to exceed the cap to sign Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon. Milwaukee will still have the $4.8M room exception available.

3 years ago – via Twitter GeryWoelfel

Gery Woelfel: Some good but not great news for Bucks Nation: I’m told by some NBA officials that Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and George Hill are all returning to the Bucks. The not-so-good news: Malcolm Brogdon has given no indication he wants to return to the team.

3 years ago – via Twitter TheSteinLine

Marc Stein: Not much talk in recent days about Khris Middleton, but that’s largely because it is universally presumed by interested teams that Middleton is going back to Milwaukee — perhaps as early as tonight — on a monster five-year deal

3 years ago – via Twitter BobbyMarks42

Bobby Marks: Milwaukee could create up to $14M in room and bring back Brook Lopez using cap space. The $22M+ in cap holds of Malcolm Brogdon and Khris Middleton give Milwaukee an advantage when it comes to creating room. It also gives them a buffer when it comes to the tax.

3 years ago – via Twitter BobbyMarks42

Bobby Marks: Milwaukee can take advantage of the $19.5M cap hold of Middleton, a number that is $13M less from the $32.7M max. Combined with the $3M hold of Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee could have cap flexibility but would need to find a home for Tony Snell or Ersan Ilyasova.

3 years ago – via Twitter wojespn

Khris Middleton opting out

Adrian Wojnarowski: Milwaukee Bucks All-Star forward Khris Middleton is declining his $13M player option and will become an unrestricted free agent, his agent, Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports, tells ESPN. Middleton and Bucks are planning to work together toward a new long-term deal, sources said.

3 years ago – via Twitter fishsports

Mike Fisher: Sources: #Bucks to keep Middleton … hard path to also keeping Lopez and both Mirotic and Brogdon (RFA who #Mavs like). MIL therefore trying to fire-sale Snell and Ilyasova, I’m told

3 years ago – via 247Sports

The Dallas Mavericks will be preparing to turn the page on a hoped-for pursuit of a top free-agent target in Khris Middleton as an NBA source close to the Middleton situation tells DBcom that the standout wing is planning to decline his player option and then re-sign with the Milwaukee Bucks.

3 years ago – via Twitter

Paul Henning: Bucks free agent, Khris Middleton, has reportedly moved into a new home in a Milwaukee area suburb. Have to think that bodes well for him resigning with Bucks when free agency opens on June 30th.

3 years ago – via Twitter Matt_Velazquez

Matt Velazquez: Khris Middleton talked about having unfinished business with Giannis and the Bucks as a whole. Also said he learned a lot about how to take care of himself & approach FA from a few years ago. Says he will do what’s best for himself and his family — that’s the top priority.

3 years ago – via Yahoo! Sports

Middleton is a free agent after the season, and the Bucks will make it a priority to keep him around. “It’s rare to keep pieces together. Hopefully, we can make deep playoff runs and compete for championships together,” Middleton said.

3 years ago – via p.nytimes.com

Mavericks targeting Kemba, Middleton in free agency?

League sources say that the Mavericks intend to fling themselves into the chase for Khris Middleton and/or Kemba Walker with gusto in hopes that they have a shot at one of them.

3 years ago – via ESPN

Middleton hopes so, and wants to stay. Milwaukee fits his low-key personality. “It has to be the right situation,” he says. “But I feel like we have a team that can compete.” He is fine with his role next to Antetokounmpo. “People expect us to be more buddy-buddy, but it’s not like that,” he says. “We’re friends. We respect each other. We need each other.”

3 years ago – via New York Times

I have yet to hear any credible suggestion that the Mavericks can get in the mix for the elite free agents such as Durant, Thompson and Kyrie Irving. But Middleton is an inevitable (and sensible) target.

3 years ago – via Twitter Matt_Velazquez

Matt Velazquez: Khris Middleton was asked about his future postgame: “I’ll think about the summertime in the summertime. We have a lot more work to do, hopefully. The second half of the season is going to be tough. We’ve been playing great basketball, so that’s the only thing I’m worried about.”

3 years ago – via Woelfel's Press Box

Bledsoe is one of four Bucks’ starters who figure to be free agents this summer, the others being Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon and Brook Lopez. Like Bledsoe, the aforementioned trio of Bucks are all bound for pay raises. “It might have happened before but I don’t ever recall a team having four starting players hitting the free agent market in one summer,’’ a longtime NBA executive said. “I don’t know how they’re going to handle this; I know they’re struggling with it, too.’’

3 years ago – via Woelfel's Press Box

On the high end, Middleton’s 2019-2020 salary will well exceed that of superstar teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is on the books for $25.84 M next season. “He’s going to get the max,’’ an NBA general manager said last week about Middleton. The max? “The max,’’ the GM insisted.

4 years ago – via Yahoo! Sports

The Bucks feel Middleton can fill that role and should he opt out to hit free agency, a Bucks official told Yahoo Sports: “We’re gonna do everything we can to keep him.” Half of the league will hit free agency in July, and Middleton will have plenty of suitors if he so chooses. “I feel like over the years we’re building something special here, so I feel like there will be an opportunity for me to be here and win at the same time,” Middleton said. “If I feel like I have a chance to win somewhere else and do better things, I’ll look into that.”

4 years ago – via Sporting News

Those are star-quality numbers, and they’re the reason Middleton has max-deal buzz. There will be opportunities to explore — both the Lakers and Clippers, sources say, will have interest in Middleton, and he’ll have options with rebuilding teams such as New York, Dallas and Cleveland. Either way, Middleton will get something around a five-year, $190 million deal from Milwaukee, or a four-year, $140 million contract to sign elsewhere.

4 years ago – via Sporting News

There’s still plenty of time, but here in the depths of the early season, Middleton is shaping up to be one of the most interesting players of next summer. It’s a forgone conclusion that Middleton will opt out, because he is slated to double his payday if he does. The Bucks, a source told Sporting News, are prepared for that reality and prepared to be aggressive when it comes to re-signing Middleton.

4 years ago – via Sporting News

Middleton is not going to thump his chest over any of this speculation. That’s not his way. He’s got five months of season left, plus the playoffs, and after a wistful max-salary interlude, it does not take long for him to get back to speaking in bland platitudes. “I have always been the kind of guy who just takes it one day at a time,” Middleton told Sporting News. “Focus on what needs to be done that day. Don’t think too far ahead. Once you start thinking too far ahead, you get distracted by things that don’t matter on that day. So that doesn’t matter.”

7 years ago – via Twitter KBergCBS

Ken Berger: Khris Middleton and the Bucks have finalized their five-year, approximately $70 million deal, league source confirms.

7 years ago – via Twitter ESPNSteinLine

Khris Middleton staying in Milwaukee

Marc Stein: ESPN sources say Milwaukee and Khris Middleton are closing in on five-year, $70 million deal

7 years ago – via Twitter EricPincus

Eric Pincus: The Milwaukee Bucks have given Khris Middleton a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent @BBallInsiders

7 years ago – via Racine Journal-Times

Free agency begins July 1 and, according to a person close to the scene, Khris Middleton won’t be a free agent for long and will reach a quick agreement to remain with the Bucks.