Milwaukee Bucks: Grades for Khris Middleton’s five-year, $178 million deal
By Adam McGee
Role
Six years into Middleton’s career with the Bucks, it would be very easy to say his role is obvious, clearly defined, and he’s truly comfortable in it. The only problem with that statement is that’s it’s not necessarily true.
The arrival of Mike Budenholzer led to meaningful changes in how the Bucks played offensively, and no individual was left with a greater adjustment to make than Middleton.
No longer was there the steady diet of mid-range shots and the freedom to slow the game down and turn to iso looks that Middleton had enjoyed so much individual success with under the previous regime.
Instead, the focus was on optimizing Middleton’s game, making him a more efficient and modernized wing and, most importantly, ensuring his game was best tailored to complement the skills of his MVP teammate, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The results were often good, and occasionally bad, as Middleton tried to eradicate some of the less efficient attempts from his shot diet, but toward the end of the season there was a clear sense of compromise coming to the fore too. Budenholzer appeared more willing to turn to Middleton in some of his favored spots, and there’s real cause for curiosity as to how that relationship may evolve next season.
The hope from a Bucks’ perspective will be that a year of acclimating will make Middleton more comfortable in the team’s base offense, and a full season of coaching Middleton may help Budenholzer to integrate some of Middleton’s own strengths more naturally into the overall gameplan.
Either way, the loss of Malcolm Brogdon will only increase the need for Middleton to supplement Antetokounmpo’s scoring and playmaking with meaningful contributions of his own. He may find the ball in his hands more frequently, and he may also be asked to spend more regular minutes at shooting guard once again.
In spite of all of his games played in Milwaukee to this point, Middleton’s role is still very much ever-changing as the Bucks look to get the overall formula for success just right.