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Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst excited to have Khris Middleton back
Though few would admit it, there was concern about the status of the Milwaukee Bucks' All-Star Khris Middleton, who opted out of his $40 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent. Still, league insiders believed that Middleton would return to the Bucks, and those pundits proved themselves as prophets as Middleton signed a three-year, $102-million deal to stay in Milwaukee.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst is pleased with Middleton's return, saying the veteran wingman is a huge part of what they've accomplished in the past and what they hope to achieve in the seasons to come.
Injury-riddled season
Middleton played in just 33 regular season games this past season, as he recovered from off-season wrist surgery and then suffered knee soreness at several points of the season. Despite those, Horst was undeterred in his pursuit of the 31-year-old.
"I mean, we felt obviously very strongly about the season we had last year. It didn't end the way that we wanted to, but I don't think that minimizes the work that we did throughout the course of the year and, maybe more importantly, what we've done over the last few years," Horst said.
Bounced back in the Playoffs
Playing with fresh legs in the first round against the Miami Heat, Middleton averaged 24 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, thus picking up the slack for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed two of the five games in the series due to a back injury.
"Khris is a massive part of that and he really played great in the playoffs and I know it's a shorter run than we wanted, but Khris averaged like 24, 6, and 6. He felt great. He played great. He shot the ball well. He's had an incredible off-season," Horst shared.
