Wizards' Khris Middleton Reportedly Picks Up $33.3M Contract Option for 2025-26 Season

Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton is taking the sure thing and exercising his $33.3 million player option for the 2025-26 NBA season, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

The decision isn't a surprise based on how last year unfolded.

Middleton missed the Milwaukee Bucks' first 21 games while recovering from offseason surgeries on both ankles. Upon returning to the court, the 33-year-old had to adjust to a lesser role in Milwaukee's rotation before the Bucks shipped him to the rebuilding Washington Wizards ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

In 37 appearances with both teams, he averaged 11.9 points on 47.5 percent shooting, including 36.1 percent from beyond the arc.

As it related to his value on the court, the Bucks' trade of Middleton was pretty telling.

The 6'7" sharpshooter had been with the team for 12 years and was instrumental in helping it win a championship in 2021. But with Milwaukee still failing to hit the heights it expected after the Damian Lillard trade and the urgency to win with Giannis Antetokounmpo only growing, general manager Jon Horst thought forward Kyle Kuzma was a better piece for the frontcourt.

"I've had many opportunities. That's the way I've kind of looked at it," Middleton said in a February interview with The Athletic's Eric Nehm. "My time ran out. Simple as that. I mean, I could say my time could have ran out a long time ago. They held onto me, believed in the potential, believed in the work that they saw. But I think this time, it was just we think a different route is better for our team going forward. And I can't do nothing but respect that."

The injuries have added up for the 13-year veteran. He had surgery for a torn wrist ligament in July 2022 and then knee surgery the following summer before going under the knife yet again in 2024.

While still a strong shooter, Middleton's skill set has become more limited in recent years. The days of him being a key starter on a championship-winning squad are likely gone.

That left him with a dilemma as it related to his player option.

By opting out, Middleton would not have gotten anything close to a $33.3 million salary for 2025-26 on the free-agent market. Opting in, meanwhile, meant sticking around with the Wizards, who figure to remain a lottery team.

In exercising his option, Middleton is presumably counting on getting moved sometime between now and the trade deadline. He should be on the radar for contending teams looking to add a floor-spacer, and his expiring contract makes the financial burden a little easier to absorb.