Khris Middleton made the decision to hit the open market this summer, as the All-Star wing turned down the player option in his contract and became an unrestricted free agent. Despite this, the overwhelming expectation was that Middleton would return to the Milwaukee Bucks, as he’s been a crucial part of the team’s success over the years and is an excellent running mate alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday.
On Friday, we learned what the future will look like for Middleton, as per Adrian Wojnarowski, Middleton will stay with the Bucks on a three-year deal worth $102 million, with a player option on the final year.
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
Middleton struggled to remain healthy last season, which unsurprisingly led to a year where his production fell off a bit. On the season, Middleton appeared in 33 games with 19 starts — both of which were the lowest he’s registered since joining the Bucks — and averaged 15.1 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game while only connecting on 31.5 percent of his attempts from behind the three-point line. He did look more like himself by the time the playoffs rolled around, as he put up numbers that are much closer to what one would expect in the Bucks’ first round loss to the Miami Heat: 23.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 40.6 percent from three. The bet, unsurprisingly, is that now that Middleton is healthy, he’ll be able to get back to that level during the 2023-24 season and beyond.