Will veteran forward Khris Middleton seek a buyout in the coming days? According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link), the Mavericks have essentially left that decision up to Middleton and his camp and would be open to either negotiating the 34-year-old’s release or hanging onto him for the rest of the season.
Middleton, who has dealt with injuries in recent years, is no longer the same player who earned All-Star berths three times in four years from 2019-22, but he has performed pretty well since arriving in Dallas. His performance in Sunday’s win over Indiana – 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting, seven assists, and seven rebounds – was arguably his best of the season.
As Stein writes, the Mavericks have conveyed to Middleton that they’ll be in need of shooting heading into this offseason, so if he sticks around, it’s possible the relationship between the two sides could extend beyond 2025/26. If Middleton instead decides to pursue a buyout, he would want to do so sooner rather than later, since players waived after March 1 don’t retain their playoff eligibility with a new team.
In the event of a buyout, the three-time All-Star would be ineligible to sign with Cleveland, Golden State, or New York, since clubs operating over either tax apron aren’t permitted to sign a player waived during the season who had been earning more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM). Middleton’s $33.3MM expiring salary far exceeds that figure.
It’s also worth noting that Middleton would forfeit his Bird rights if he agrees to a buyout. While he’ll certainly have to take a pay cut this summer either way, retaining those Bird rights would likely put him in a better position to avoid settling for the veteran’s minimum or something close to it.
Here are a few more items of interest from Stein:
- Although Kyrie Irving won’t return from his torn ACL for the Mavericks until the fall, the club is hopeful that the star guard will be able to take part in at least one or two full-speed practices before the end of this season, Stein writes. Teams typically don’t practice in full during the season unless they have multiple consecutive days off — that will be the case for Dallas on March 19-20, March 28-29, and April 1-2.
- The Kings entertained trading Domantas Sabonis prior to February’s trade deadline, but it’s not considered a lock that they’ll do so again this summer, a source tells Stein. Sacramento’s interest in an offseason Sabonis deal could hinge in large part on where the team lands in the draft lottery and which prospect they select with that pick, Stein explains. Toronto and Washington were among the teams linked to Sabonis earlier this season, though the Wizards pivoted to acquiring Anthony Davis. It’s possible the Raptors would circle back on the Kings big man this offseason if he’s made available again.
- The Warriors‘ hope when they traded for Kristaps Porzingis at the deadline, according to Stein, was that he’d “click” with the team and its medical staff and would be willing to re-sign with Golden State at a more team-friendly price once his current $30.7MM contract expires. However, Porzingis’ availability remains an ongoing concern as he deals with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), creating uncertainty about his future in the Bay Area beyond this season.
I think Porzingis shelf-life has expired. Hang it up big fella, you got your money, you got your ring. Enjoy life without hobbling around while you still can.
Agreed. I love the guy and his unicorn skillset, but the frequency and unpredictability of these bouts with illness are pretty hard to stomach for a team trying to make a deep playoff run.
On the one hand, you don’t want him risking his future just to be available with no energy or stamina. But you also can’t hold a roster spot and salary for a guy that may be lucky to play 30 games out of 82 and 1 game out of each playoff series, if that.
If the man wants to compete for glory, I think his best bet may be a lighter schedule in Euro leagues or just limiting himself to the international stage, like Eurobasket, World Cups, and Olympics. He can still also be competitive in other walks of life, like business, owning a Euro-league team, golf, or Magic: the Gathering.
I hope GSW gets Middleton in this upcoming offseason. Perfect fit.
Khris should go for championships. His playing style is critical for teams during the playoffs. He won’t be making more than a veterans minimum, or play more than 20 minutes on a contender, but I have a feeling that he prioritizes meaningful basketball over 1-2 millions above the veterans minimum.
Milwaukee did him, Jrue, Pat, Brook, and coach Griffin, so wrong.. I’m shocked that such a dysfunctional organization won a championship. It’s a true testimony of how good Giannis is.
Porzingis will gladly take another contract and not play for Golden State.
Why is that? Which team would be better than GSW for him to play on?
So, this is the result. The best the Warriors could get for Kuminga is Porzingis. “But, but, Kuminga has such potential”. Teams have scouts that have been looking at him for the past 5 or 6 years. They are paid to project what a player could achieve. Obviously, they are not that overwhelmed. If they were, there would have been better offers.