The Washington Wizards have plenty of roster decisions to make moving forward, but perhaps the biggest obstacle on general manager Will Dawkins to-do list is finding a way to move off of Khris Middleton's steep contract.
Middleton was traded for ahead of February's NBA trade deadline in a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a package centered around Kyle Kuzma, who made it clear weeks leading up to the deadline that his hope was to land with a new squad to compete.
Obviously, landing Middleton wasn't the selling point to the deal, but landing former first-round pick AJ Johnson and future draft capital made the deal a bit too good for the Wizards to decline, especially after missing the opportunity to sell high on Kuzma when they had the chance.
Not to mention, landing a veteran who has championship experience to mentor the group of young players on the squad wasn't the worst-case scenario.
However, it was clear from the jump that the Wizards had no desire in keeping the forward long term and instead hoped that he could prove with his short stint in D.C. that he has plenty left in the tank for them to hopefillu flip his contract this offseason.
Unfortunately, after injuries continued to stack up, it made it clear that offloading Middleton would be a tall task, especially after the Texas A&M product opted into his $33.3 million player-option this offseason.
Although the Wizards haven't found a trade partner for the 33-year-old, there's no saying they can't find a desperate trade partner to take on his deal prior to this coming trade deadline.
If they can't, Middleton could be a buyout candidate to hit the open market and become an unrestricted free agent.
Regardless, there's one team in mind that has increasingly looked like a potential landing spot for Middleton and that's the Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix last decision to land a former Wizards player didn't work out all too well for them looking back at the Bradley Beal situation.
Despite that, their growing need to land a forward to bolster their front court has become increasingly clear after moving on from Kevin Durant.
The Suns have been a team linked to Jonathan Kuminga, but with the Golden State Warriors reluctance to deal their former lottery pick away in any sign-and-trade deal.
Which leads us to Middleton, who could be a great addition to the Suns alongside Jalen Green and Devin Booker IF the Wizards were to buy him out.
That'll only happen if a trade doesn't materialize, but with the low chance that happens, it's safe to expect a buyout before a deal.
Or maybe the Suns will look to continue their trend of bad decision-making to strike a deal with the Wizards once again, who knows.