There is a lot of mystery surrounding Milwaukee Bucks swingman Khris Middleton and his suspicious absence from Wednesday night's contest against the Detroit Pistons.
There have been no reports of an injury, and the team are officially saying that Middleton sat out the game due to personal reasons. However, the timing is definitely dubious, considering the fact that the 6-foot-8 guard/forward was benched by Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's contest against the New York Knicks, apparently due to his poor effort on defense.
Nobody seems to know what's going on in Milwaukee, but the rumor mill is certainly brewing right now. NBC's Michael Gallagher tweeted about the incident, and the responses he got all seem to point to one thing — that the Bucks are all but set to pull the trigger on a Middleton trade.
Hope Khris Middleton is OK, but the timing sure is interesting.
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) December 6, 2018
To be clear, Gallagher did not say anything about an impending trade. However, he did infer that there might be more to this than just a simple personal issue for Middleton.
What makes this whole affair even more interesting is the fact that Middleton has a player option clause in his contract for next season. This means that he could actually walk away from Milwaukee this summer, leaving the Bucks with nothing to show for. From this perspective, now would actually be the best time for the Bucks to try and find a deal for the 27-year-old, especially if they feel like they won't be able to sign him to an extension.
If this is indeed the case, then the Bucks front office will have no shortage of suitors for Middleton. The Texas A&M product is killing it right now, averaging 18.5 points (on 44.4 percent shooting), 3.0 three-pointers, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 30.8 minutes of action.
There should be an update on this story very soon, and we will be sure to pass along any new information as they come along.
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