Could Khris Middleton Leave The Bucks Following 2022-23 NBA Season?

Having just a player option left on his contract following the 2022-23 NBA season, Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton is expected to be one of the better players available next offseason.

Failing to defend their championship this past season, the Milwaukee Bucks are preparing for the 2022-23 NBA season as one of the league’s favorites to reach the 2023 NBA Finals.

Having two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the charge obviously puts the Bucks in a great position to be championship contenders, but so does having three-time All-Star wing Khris Middleton.

Over the years, Middleton has rapidly become one of the better two-way wings in the entire league and he has averaged at least 20.0 points per game in four of the last five seasons for Milwaukee.

A key reason why the Bucks won their second championship in team history in 2020, Khris Middleton will enter the 2022-23 season as a player many teams are already taking a look at for next offseason.

Middleton is technically still under contract for the 2023-24 season with Milwaukee, but this is the final guaranteed year on his contract, as he has a near $40.4 million player option to make a decision on.

“I think everybody knows that. Even though I know you’re really not supposed to say it for all the reasons out there, but I think everybody knows deep down that I want to stay,” Middleton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently. “But also, you know it’s a business. Things change, things happen. You just never know. For sure I would love to stay, if everything works out.”

It does not appear that Bucks fans have anything to worry about yet in terms of the All-Star wing leaving or opting out of his contract, but he most definitely would like to see a cut of the wealth that many All-Stars have been receiving around the league.

Just this offseason, Zach LaVine signed a five-year, $215 million deal to remain with the Chicago Bulls, Bradley Beal signed a five-year, $251 million extension to remain with the Washington Wizards and back-to-back league MVP Nikola Jokic signed a five-year, $272 million extension with the Denver Nuggets.

The value on contracts around the league for All-Stars is continuing to increase and Khris Middleton can absolutely make quite a compelling argument for why he deserves to be the next $200 million-plus player in this league.

He is the team’s No. 2 scoring option, he has helped deliver the team a championship and he has the same amount of All-Star appearances in his career as Beal, one more appearance than LaVine.

The key part of what Middleton said recently that has definitely raised some eyebrows around the league is that he said “things change” and that he would love to stay in Milwaukee IF everything works out.

This team is a championship contender and has already won a championship together, so what else could there be to “work out?”

Of course it is way too early to speculate what Middleton will do with his player option, as anything can happen over the course of this upcoming season, but he will undoubtedly enter next offseason as one of the biggest names that could hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.