The surge of the Milwaukee Bucks shouldn’t be surprising as both Middleton and Giannis have developed into stars in the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo has sprouted into one of the top 10 players in the game while Middleton should be a top 6-7 shooting guard
at the moment. Now Giannis’s free-agency is still 2 years away but the Bucks will have to do all they can to make sure they keep Middleton in a Bucks’s uniform or they all but surely risk losing Giannis when he becomes a free-agent.
You see Giannis a great player but a jump shooter he is not, freak a nature? Yes, he can jump through the roof,can rebound at a high clip and run the floor like a gazelle and did I mention he’s become one of the best playmakers in the game? It’s scary what Giannis has involved into but he still lacks a consistent jump-shot and that brings me to speak about why Giannis needs Middleton more than ever. Giannis did not take a shot in the last 4-5 minutes of the loss to the Phoenix Suns, that is not good at all if you ask me.
Middleton is all Giannis isn’t, he’s a pure shooter with a fundamentally sound game which isn’t appealing to the fan who likes watching high flying dunks and crossovers, Middleton simply knows how to put the ball in the hole. He’s got great size for a guard and is the definition of a true basketball player. He was once a throw-in in a trade in the past but might be commanding a max-contract this coming summer. Rumors are the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to join the Khris Middleton sweepstakes so Milwaukee is best off getting that max-contract ready.
Middleton would perfectly compliment superstar LeBron James who is a lot like Giannis Antetokoumpo in the sense that he isn’t an exceptional shooter or a player who relies on fundamentals to dominate on the court. LeBron has always been best with multiple 3 point shooters are on the floor and he’s practically unstoppable because the shooters open up the driving lanes for him and good luck stopping 6’8 250-260 pounds of pure muscle and speed coming at you. Giannis I wouldn’t say will ever reach LeBron’s level of physicality but Giannis can overpower over just about anyone who guards him and he needs a shooters around him to succeed also.
I’d say Khris Middleton will command somewhere in the $150-200 million ballpark and yes he might be able to earn up to $200 million because in this day and age you can’t find a guy who’s 6’8 shooting nearly 43% from the 3 point line and he’s 27 at the moment meaning a 4-5 year max means you’ll have him for the prime of his career. Middleton will age well because his game is far from physical and he makes his money in the post and moving off the ball getting open for 3’s. You’d figure the money he will be offered is a bit much but you are not only paying for his outside shooting but also his defense, he’s an exceptional on ball defender and can guard 1-4 basically in this small-ball era where team are running 3 guard lineups.
The whole point of my post is the Bucks should not be thinking about whether Middleton is worth re-signing or not because if you let him get away you can bank on Giannis leaving town the moment his contract is up and for a small-market like Milwaukee you just can’t afford to lose Giannis Antetokoumpo. They’ll be other free-agent out there such as Leonard,Durant,Cousins,Kyrie,Kemba, and Klay who would all make a devastating combo with Giannis but I don’t see any of those guys coming to Milwaukee honestly unless Milwaukee makes the Finals this season and any of those guys wants to be the final piece.
What are your thoughts on Middleton? Do you think he’s worth a max contract or would you let him get paid elsewhere if you were Bucks management?
D-NBA 