The 2025-26 NBA season served as a test of schematics and character for the Dallas Mavericks. Coach Jason Kidd now had to face the reality of an 82-game campaign without Luka Doncic while Kyrie Irving remained sidelined due to injury. More than that, he also needed to ensure that Cooper Flagg was getting enough reps to acclimate properly in the league. They got Khris Middleton to help with those veteran woes but his comments about NBA Free Agency might be telling of another departure.
Will Middleton stick with Dallas?
The Mavs got Middleton after his 2021 championship-winning stint with the Milwaukee Bucks and getting traded away at the deadline by the Washington Wizards. There was an obvious choice to opt for a buyout in order for him to compete for a Larry O’Brien trophy immediately but he chose to stay with Coach Kidd and Flagg.
However, it does not look like Middleton will stay with the Mavs until the start of the 2026-27 season, via Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
“It just gives me the best opportunity going into free agency. I got a solid role here to finish the season. Hopefully I can play well and enter free agency strong, whether that’s staying here or finding another option. My first couple of weeks here have been great so I didn’t think it was really necessary to try to go chase something that may not work out. I thought my safest bet was to stay put,” the veteran declared.
As of the moment, he is on the final year of a $33 million contract than spanned from 2023 and will expire by the end of the season. So far, Middleton has given the Mavs a reason to try and sign him again in order to fully contend in the coming years. His averages in eight games clock in at 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
Will he eventually be able to wait for Irving to heal and Flagg to develop into a superstar?
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