The Washington Wizards have made a big move in free agency as they have brought back veteran swingman Khris Middleton.
The Wizards have signed Middleton to a three-year, $17.6 million deal, bringing him back to the team via a sign-and-trade agreement with the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Middleton played 48 games for the Wizards over the past two seasons before he was traded to the Mavericks at this year’s NBA trade deadline. Now, he heads back to Washington, D.C.
“Just in: Free agent Khris Middleton has agreed on a three-year, $17.6 million deal with the Washington Wizards via sign-and-trade, agent Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports Management tells ESPN. The 14-year veteran returns to D.C. where he spent parts of last two seasons as a leader with championship presence,” Charania wrote on X.
Khris Middleton Traded as Part of 6-Team Deal
According to Charania, this Middleton sign-and-trade will be looped into a massive six-team trade featuring the Wizards, Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, and Memphis Grizzlies.
“Dallas is sending Middleton to the Wizards via sign-and-trade as part of a larger six-team deal that includes, in total, the Mavericks, Wizards, Clippers, Pistons, Bucks and Grizzlies. It involves previously agreed upon deals such as John Collins, Gary Harris and Taurean Prince (Detroit), Isaiah Stewart (Memphis), Santi Aldama (Mavericks), Caris LeVert (Bucks), etc.,” Charania wrote on X.
In addition to getting Middleton back, the Wizards are also trading point guard D’Angelo Russell to the Grizzlies as part of this deal.
“As part of the elaborate six-team trade, the Washington Wizards are sending D’Angelo Russell, a future second-round pick and a future second-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies, sources tell ESPN,” Charania added.
Khris Middleton Still Has Something Left in the Tank
The Wizards wouldn’t be doing this trade unless they thought that Middleton had something left in the tank.
At age 34, Middleton is far removed from the prime of his career when he was a three-time All-Star for the Milwaukee Bucks and a champion when he won a chip in 2021 with Milwaukee.
But he is still averaging double digits in points this late in his career, and he brings a lot of intangibles to the table as a veteran leader and someone whom younger players can look up to in the Wizards’ locker room, as the team has a ton of rising prospects that can learn a lot from him.
Still, it’s a bit surprising to see Middleton sign with the Wizards, only because they are unlikely to contend for the title over the next three years, while there were likely contenders that were offering him the chance to join them as a ring chaser on a veteran’s minimum contract.
Clearly, though, Middleton valued his time in the nation’s capital, and the money that he is getting paid is a nice perk, too, so it made sense for him to return to the Wizards.
We’ll have to wait and see what the final trade looks like, but with six teams involved, there will be a lot of moving parts involved with it.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Wizards Sign 3-Time NBA All-Star appeared first on HEAVY.