Three-time NBA All-Star and 2021 champion Khris Middleton is at the heart of a rare six-team trade deal that will see him return to the Washington Wizards.
Middleton, 34, is a free agent after spending time with the Dallas Mavericks, but he has now agreed a three-year, $17.6 million sign-and-trade deal with the Wizards.
ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania reports that the deal includes six teams – the Wizards, Mavericks, Clippers, Pistons, Bucks and Grizzlies – and players such as John Collins, Gary Harris and Taurean Prince (Detroit), Isaiah Stewart (Memphis), Santi Aldama (Mavericks), and Caris LeVert (Bucks).
The bombshell agreement also sees the Wizards send former No 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell to the Grizzlies, along with a future second-round pick and a future second-round pick swap.
Middleton, meanwhile, is returning to the city where he has spent part of the last two seasons, and he will enter his 15th NBA season later this year.
He is best-known for his time with the Bucks, where he spent 12 seasons and won both the NBA Championship in 2021 and the NBA Cup in 2024.
Middleton was traded to the Wizards at the 2025 deadline, where he spent two seasons before being moved on to the Mavs.
He has 80 games of playoff experience and averaged 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 63 games last season.
Russell, meanwhile, was drafted with the second overall pick by the Lakers back in 2015 and has bounced around the league, spending time in Brooklyn, Golden State, Minnesota, Dallas and Washington.
He was only traded to the Wizards in February as part of a three-team deal involving the Mavericks and Charlotte Hornets, but he didn’t take to the court once.
He picked up his $6 million player option on June 19, but has been quickly moved on to pastures new.
