Bucks have to keep Khris Middleton, who wants to stay
By Phil Watson
The sting of the Milwaukee Bucks series-ending 120-66 loss to the Chicago Bulls Thursday still fresh, shooting guard Khris Middleton said he hopes to be back with the Bucks next season.
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Middleton, once an afterthought in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Brandon Jennings to the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2013, had a breakout season while helping the Bucks to a 41-41 regular-season record before Milwaukee went down to Chicago in six tough games—OK, five tough games and one pummeling—in the first round of the playoffs.
Middleton averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 30.1 minutes per game this season, shooting .467/.407/.859 and establishing himself as one of many Milwaukee players who can wreak havoc on the defensive end with his length.
At 6-foot-7, Middleton posted a defensive rating of 102 (points per 100 possessions) this season, a huge improvement over the 113 rating he had in his first season with the Bucks.
He also had a true shooting percentage of .563, a career-best player efficiency rating of 15.6 and 6.7 win shares, including 3.5 on the defensive end, which fell just out of the top 20 in the NBA.
In the series against Chicago, Middleton averaged 15.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals and two assists in 38.7 minutes per game, shooting .380/.324/.933 in his first taste of postseason NBA action.
Acquired from the Pistons along with guard Brandon Knight and center Viacheslav Kravtsov, Middleton is the only player remaining with the Bucks from that deal.
Kravtsov was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in August 2013 in the deal that brought Caron Butler to Milwaukee and Knight went to Phoenix as part of a three-team deal at the February trade deadline this year in which the Bucks acquired Michael Carter-Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers along with Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee from the Suns.
And Middleton is entering a big offseason. A restricted free agent, Middleton has far exceeded expectations after he was the 39th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Texas A&M and is looking at a big payday.
By June 30, Milwaukee has to make a qualifying offer of at least 125 percent of Middleton’s $915,243 salary from this season in order to retain the right of first refusal.
Teams can make offers to Middleton when free agency begins in July, with the Bucks having the right to match any offer within seven days.
“I got here, nobody really knew what to expect,” Middleton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday during exit interviews. “We had a terrible season, then this year I feel like we found our foundation of what we can be and what we can become …
“I feel like we have a great young team going in the right direction. Would love to be a part of that team here.”
Coach Jason Kidd was effusive about the third-year swingman.
“He was probably in the best shape he’s been in and he had one of the best seasons of his career,” Kidd said. “Again, we talk about working hard, he can be the blueprint of that, of getting better during the season but also coming in ready to play at a very high level and willing to learn and get better. And he did that.”
Middleton emerged as the Bucks’ go-to scorer after Knight was traded, averaging 16.8 points per game in 29 games following the move.
“I feel I made a lot of strides in the right direction,” Middleton said. “Still feel I have a long way to go, a lot more to improve on. I feel I can be a lot better in a lot of different areas.”
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Middleton made those strides as the team did. Milwaukee had a defensive renaissance in their first year under Kidd, finishing second in the NBA in defensive efficiency and leading the league in forcing turnovers.
“Khris is going to have a great summer,” forward Jared Dudley said. “Khris is going to have a nice little payday. His uncertainty is going to be real certain. …
“I’d be shocked, more so than me or any other player on the team, if Khris is not back next year.”
I share Dudley’s sentiments. Middleton established himself as a foundation piece—along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and Carter-Williams—of one of the brightest up-and-coming teams in the NBA.
And with salary cap relief coming soon in the form of the NBA’s new television deal that kicks in for 2016, it would take a ridiculous offer for the Bucks not to match whatever the free market deems Middleton to be worth.