What’s different about Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason?
What’s different about the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason? Jim Owczarski discusses next moves for the Milwaukee Bucks.
One former Milwaukee Bucks star is staying on his new team while another has a new home again — at least for now.
Khris Middleton, traded by the Bucks to the Washington Wizards in February, picked up his player option June 23 to remain in the nation’s capital, according to ESPN.
And Jrue Holiday has been traded by the Boston Celtics, a team where he spent the last two seasons and helped lead to the 2023-24 championship, to the Portland Trail Blazers. USA TODAY confirmed the trade, which isn’t yet official, after ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news late on June 23.
Here’s more on Middleton and Holiday:
Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton, one of the Bucks’ all-time greats, finished the 2024-25 season with the Wizards after over 12 years in Milwaukee. The Bucks acquired Kyle Kuzma as part of the trade that also included Milwaukee sending rookie AJ Johnson to the Wizards.
Middleton played in just 14 games for Washington after the trade and sat out the final nine games with a knee injury.
Middleton’s option for next season is for $34 million.
Middleton, with his steadiness and smooth jumper, became a three-time All-Star and key piece to the Bucks’ rise to the top of the NBA and eventual championship in 2021. He formed an unbreakable duo and friendship with Giannis Antetokounmpo in their dozen years together.
But injuries caught up to Middleton in recent seasons. In the last three years, he played in about half of the total games and just 37 last season between Milwaukee and Washington.
Middleton, who turns 34 in August, is among the franchise’s leaders in many statistical categories, including third in points behind only Antetokounmpo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is second in games played, second in minutes played, the all-time leader in three-pointers made and attempted, third in assists, fifth in steals and seventh in rebounds.
He’ll remain on a Wizards team that finished with the worst record (18-64) in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25 and fewest wins in the NBA over the last two seasons.
Jrue Holiday
Holiday was not just instrumental in the Bucks’ NBA championship in 2021, but also the Celtics’ in 2024.
Holiday spent the last two years in Boston and provided his usual tenacious defense that Bucks fans loved for the three seasons he was in Milwaukee.
But the Celtics looked to unload his salary ahead of this week’s NBA Draft and the start of the free agency period June 30. The Celtics are sending Holiday to Portland for 26-year-old guard Anfernee Simons and two second-round draft picks. With All-NBA shooting guard Jayson Tatum out for likely much of the season with a ruptured Achilles, the Celtics will get more scoring from Simons, who averaged 19.6 points per game. But they’ll lose a defensive stopper in Holiday.
Whether Holiday remains with the Blazers is to be seen. This is the second time that Holiday is being traded to the Blazers. The Bucks sent him to Portland as part of the Damian Lillard trade in September 2023, but the Blazers traded him to the Celtics four days later.
Ahead of the playoffs in 2024, Holiday signed a four-year, $134.4 million extension with the Celtics. He has three seasons remaining on the deal.
Holiday, acquired by Milwaukee in 2020, was a missing piece for the Bucks in their championship run in 2021 as he formed a big three with Antetokounmpo and Middleton. His steal on Devin Booker late in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and ensuing pass to Antetokounmpo, who finished the dunk, was one of the iconic moments of the series.
Though he spent under three years in Milwaukee and part of it during the early stages of COVID, he became one of the most beloved members of the team with fans for his style of play and his charitable work with his wife, Lauren, through his foundation.
Holiday, who turned 35 earlier this month, played in 62 games last season with Boston, averaging 30.6 minutes and 11.1 points on 44.3% shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals.