The Washington Wizards have an important offseason ahead of them as the team continues to prioritize their long-term rebuild.
Ahead of the NBA trade deadline in February, the Wizards made multiple moves to position themselves ahead of the offseason and the future as a whole. Washington ultimately made an abundance of deals to not only shake up the roster and offload lucrative contracts, but to bring in a new mixture of veterans and young talent.
Among the players landed, NBA veterans like Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart were the headlining players that found themselves in D.C. to help mentor the team's young players down the stretch of the season.
Not only did the Wizards make the move to land the vets with the purpose of providing experience for their young core to learn from, but they also made the moves with the possibility that they could too flip their deals in the coming offseason or the future at some point and gain even more assets in a potential deal.
And while Smart's future is a story of it's own, it seems that the Wizards may be stuck with Middleton now and in the future.
Wizards may be stuck with Khris Middleton
Trading for Middleton at the time of the deal, seemed like a confusing move for the Wizards. However, when sitting back and analyzing exactly what the forward has to offer in terms of championship experience and play on the court, the deal seemed to make more sense.
At least that was until his upcoming $34 million player option in the offseason was brought into question.
Now, originally it didn't seem like his pending deal could be much of a problem, especially if he came to the Wizards and proved he had plenty of good basketball left in the tank. If that were the case, Washington would likely be able to send him to a contender in the offseason, regardless of his deal; kind of like what the Oklahoma City Thunder did with Al Horford.
However, capitalizing on a situation like this is a two-way street. Not only do the Wizards have to play their cards right, but Middleton has to perform well and show that he has plenty to offer. And so far, he's done a poor job of that.
Since joining the Wizards, Middleton is averaging 10.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while shooting an abysmal 41.2% from field goal range and 27.3% from beyond the arc in only 22.7 minutes per game. In addition to his poor averages, 33-year-old is a negative in the team's plus-minus box score.
Obviously playing for the Wizards alone can be the root to half of his issues, but if Washington and/or Middleton hope to find a team willing to take on his salary this offseason, his play has to improve.
The only way for a change of scenery will be if Middleton declines his player option (which is unlikely considering it was likely his last big payday) or the two sides would have to agree to a buyout at some point.
Regardless, as of now it seems that Middleton will be sticking around with the Wizards longer than either side planned.