Five Things The Milwaukee Bucks Need To Do This Offseason
By Ti Windisch
Feb 27, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton (22) drives against Los Angeles Lakers guard Jeremy Lin (17) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
1. Re-sign Khris Middleton
This shouldn’t take much explaining. Here’s a fun fact about Money Middleton for you. Middleton has improved on his points per 36, steals per 36, assists per 36, rebounds per 36, personal fouls per 36, turnovers per 36, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, offensive rating, defensive rating, player efficiency rating and win shares this season.
| Age | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | .440 | .414 | .454 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 3.6 | 14.5 |
| 23 | .465 | .424 | .484 | 0.7 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 15.9 |
He’s literally gotten significantly better at every facet of his game over the last year or so. My money is on Money getting even better next season, and even better than that the season after, and so on. He’s got to be the top priority. He’s a shooting guard who can cover almost anyone due to his height (somewhere around 6’8″) and wingspan (a huge 6’10”) and sinks shots from all over the court.
I’m a homebody. I love Milwaukee. A lot of people don’t like it, but I love it. There’s enough for me. I can go out and have fun when I need to, and I can chill and relax when I need to. As long as I have a gym, I’m good. – Middleton on The Lowe Post
I’ve written about the potential cost of re-signing Khash before and concluded the Bucks might have to pay the max to keep him, but that was before I heard this Middleton Q&A with Grantland’s Zach Lowe.
Could those comments mean Money might be down with taking a bit of a hometown discount? Maybe, maybe not, but they certainly suggest Khris is very open with returning to the Bucks, which is welcome news to any and all Bucks fans. It also signifies that Milwaukee is no longer akin to Siberia to potential free agents, which is nice.
Honestly this is going to happen. Trading Brandon Knight opened up the salary cap for the Bucks to keep Middleton, and he’s shown through his words and his play that he wants to stay in Milwaukee. All that’s left is for Hammond and Middleton’s agent to decide on a number in the offseason.
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