Khris Middleton, Wizards Reportedly Land Contract in 6-Team Sign-&-Trade Including D'Angelo Russell

Khris Middleton is on the move again.

The forward agreed to a three-year, $17.6 million contract with the Washington Wizards via sign-and-trade, per ESPN's Shams Charania. The sign-and-trade is part of a larger six-team trade involving the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks, per Charania.

The deal includes previously agreed upon contracts including John Collins, Gary Harris, Taurean Prince (Pistons), Isaiah Stewart (Grizzlies), Santi Aldama (Mavericks) and Caris LeVert (Bucks), Charania added.

As part of the trade, the Wizards are sending D'Angelo Russell, a future second-round pick and a future second-round pick swap to the Grizzlies, per Charania.

Middleton finished the 2025-26 campaign with the Mavericks after he was largely a salary-based afterthought in the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Wizards. While he remained with Dallas instead of being waived and joining a contender for the stretch run, he decided to sign elsewhere for this move.

There was a time in Middleton's career where this would have been one of the biggest storylines of the offseason. After all, he was a three-time All-Star during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks and helped lead them to the championship during the 2020-21 campaign.

In fact, he was Milwaukee's second-leading scorer during that title-winning season behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo and averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from deep.

He increased that scoring average to 23.6 points per game in the playoffs and was a major reason the Bucks ended up with the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Yet Middleton will be 35 years old for the entirety of the 2026-27 campaign. He is no longer the same impact player he was at his peak when he was a threat to score 25-plus points a night every time he stepped on the floor for a championship-contending Bucks squad.

He averaged 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last season with the Wizards and Mavericks, although he still shot a solid 36 percent from deep.

The veteran even turned back the clock on March 12 for the Mavericks following the Davis trade and poured in 35 points on 8-of-10 shooting from deep against the Memphis Grizzlies.

It is not realistic to expect those types of performances from him on a regular basis after he agreed to this new deal, but he can provide timely shooting when opposing defenses focus too much attention on Davis, Trae Young and AJ Dybantsa.

Combine that with the veteran leadership and playoff experience he can offer a team that is looking to make a playoff run during the upcoming season, and Middleton can be a valuable presence even if he is no longer the All-Star-caliber player he once was in Milwaukee.