{"id":119940,"date":"2025-06-24T02:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T02:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/119940\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T02:49:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T02:49:12","slug":"wizards-veteran-secures-another-season-in-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/119940\/","title":{"rendered":"Wizards Veteran Secures Another Season In Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a far below-average past few seasons, the Washington Wizards are beginning to turn a corner. With reports of the Wizards being \u201cultra-aggressive\u201d<\/a> in trying to move up in the draft, it\u2019s safe to say it\u2019ll be a busy offseason for the front office. However, one target no longer needing attention is veteran Khris Middleton<\/a>, who, according to ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania<\/a>, has re-upped with the Wizards.<\/p>\n

Wizards Veteran Secures Another Season In Washington<\/p>\n

Middleton, 33, was wise to pick up the $33.3 million option. Injuries aside, Middleton is entering the latter part of his career. He wouldn\u2019t have gotten an offer anywhere near this amount from any team. Throughout his 14 games in Washington, Middleton averaged 10.7 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. While his shooting splits are down from previous seasons, his veteran presence will do the young Wizards\u2019 core well. What does Khris Middleton\u2019s future with the Wizards hold?<\/p>\n

Middleton\u2019s Leadership<\/p>\n

With his strong offensive output slowly fading away, Middleton will no doubt step into a much different role than in previous seasons. He will now serve as an older leader for the young and hungry Washington players. However, he will still be a solid contributor next season, as the core still develops their offensive games.<\/p>\n

\"MarMar 21, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Khris Middleton (32) handles the ball against Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

With the Wizards holding three picks in the NBA draft (6, 18, 40) Middleton will take on the role of mentor for the newest additions to the Washington front. With the vast majority of the Wizards roster under 30 and relativity unexperienced, it\u2019s good to have the veteran assets locked in for the future.<\/p>\n

While Marcus Smart<\/a> seems to be on the way out<\/a>, there hasn\u2019t been much talk about Richaun Holmes<\/a> being traded. With Middleton and Holmes acting as the veteran leaders, the younger Washington players will be learning from some of the most experienced guys in the league. Middleton won a title in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>, and has certainly seen the highs and lows of an NBA career.<\/p>\n

While Middleton only played 37 games this year, the injury concerns are extremely high heading into this season once again. However, his leadership and experience in a variety of situations will no doubt be vastly important in the Wizards\u2019 player development strategy.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next For Washington<\/p>\n

With Middleton being the first major domino to fall, Washington can now ramp up the trade conversations<\/a> they have been partaking in. Now, Smart\u2019s almost-certain departure and Malcolm Brogdon<\/a>\u2018s high value in the free agency<\/a>, the Wizards are beginning to figure out the wants and needs of the roster headed into next season. With Middleton accepting his option, the Wizards have a better idea of their cap space headed into free agency.<\/p>\n

While Washington has been relatively silent about who they may be targeting, it\u2019s safe to assume they may bring in another veteran piece after Smart and Brogdon depart. Additionally, after the draft, the path forward will be a little clearer, with their potential selections not set in stone<\/a> quite yet. An interesting name the Wizards may look at is Guerschon Yabusele<\/a>. With his strong French ties to rising stars Alex Sarr<\/a> and Bilal Coulibaly<\/a>, it would make sense for the Wizards to target him. While not exactly a veteran, Yabusele not only has the ties, but also the grinding experience to help guide the younger players who may not find many minutes to start the season.<\/p>\n

Yabusele spent time out of the league, grinding for his chance at returning to the NBA. And after an impressive Olympics run with the French National team, the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> took a chance on him. While the team didn\u2019t see much success, Yabusele built an entire market for himself this season. While his value is high, the Wizards may be able to convince him to sign a contract in Washington.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/p>\n

With Middleton picking up his player option, Washington\u2019s front office can begin hammering out the remainder of open roster spots. Between the draft and free agency, General Manager Will Dawkins will have his hands full. However, with an ever-weakening Eastern Conference<\/a>, Washington could convince some interesting targets to sign and possibly make a playoff push next season or in the very near future. Either way, Khris Middleton is with the Wizards for one more year.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a far below-average past few seasons, the Washington Wizards are beginning to turn a corner. With reports…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3780],"tags":[7,204,2039,326,6,6337,682,468,3892,683],"class_list":{"0":"post-119940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-wizards","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-guerschon-yabusele","10":"tag-khris-middleton","11":"tag-marcus-smart","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-richaun-holmes","14":"tag-washington","15":"tag-washington-wizards","16":"tag-washingtonwizards","17":"tag-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114736068299743350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}