Khris Middleton is on the move again.
But he’s returning to a familiar place. Sorry, Bucks fans, it’s not Milwaukee.
However, interesting enough, the Bucks were part of the trade this week that’s sending Middleton from the Dallas Mavericks back to the Washington Wizards, the team the Bucks traded him to at the deadline in February 2025.
Middleton spent the rest of that season and the start of last season in Washington before being sent to Dallas at the deadline again. Middleton was a free agent and could sign anywhere and now he has agreed to a sign-and-trade deal to play with Trae Young and Anthony Davis in the nation’s capital.
The new trade included six teams, 11 players and a host of draft picks changing teams. For the Bucks, they acquired guard Caris LeVert and two second-round draft picks from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Taurean Prince and Gary Harris.
Besides the Bucks, Wizards, Mavericks and Pistons, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers were also involved in the trade.
Here’s what to know:
Six-team trade involving Khris Middleton
Here’s a look at the teams and players involved in the trade:
Wizards receive:
- Khris Middleton (via Dallas)
- 2033 second-round pick (via Dallas)
Grizzlies receive:
- AJ Johnson (via Dallas)
- D’Angelo Russell (via Washington)
- Isaiah Stewart (via Detroit)
- 2029 second-round pick (via Dallas)
- 2029 second-round pick (via Washington)
- 2030 top-20 protected first-round pick (via Dallas)
- 2032 second-round pick swap (via Washington)
- 2033 second-round pick (via Washington)
Mavericks receive:
- Santi Aldama (via Memphis)
- Marcus Sasser (via Detroit)
- Rights to Tarik Biberovic (via Memphis, 56th pick in 2023 Draft)
Bucks receive:
- Caris LeVert (via Detroit)
- Two future second-round picks (via Detroit)
Pistons receive:
- John Collins (via LA Clippers)
- Gary Harris (via Milwaukee)
- Taurean Prince (via Milwaukee)
- 2029 second-round pick (second-best of DET/NYK/MIL, via Memphis)
- 2031 second-round pick (via Memphis)
- 2032 second-round pick (via Memphis)
Clippers receive:
- Protected 2028 second-round pick (via Detroit)
Just in: Free agent Khris Middleton has agreed on a three-year, $17.6 million deal with the Washington Wizards via sign-and-trade, agent Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports Management tells ESPN. The 14-year veteran returns to D.C. where he spent parts of last two seasons as a leader… pic.twitter.com/iZh6XrXMoc
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2026
Khris Middleton trade
Middleton is returning to Washington, D.C., to join an intriguing team with a mix of veterans and young talent, including AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in last month’s draft.
After he was first traded by the Bucks to the Wizards during the 2024-25 season, Middleton played in 48 games, all starts, across two seasons.
But he was traded to the Mavericks in February. He played in 29 games and averaging 10.0 points for the Mavericks to finish out the 2025-26 season.
Middleton is one of the all-time greats in Bucks history, helping the team win the NBA championship in the 2020-21 season. In 12 years with the Bucks, Middleton played in 735 games (second-most in franchise history). He’s also the team’s all-time three-point leader with 1,382 three-pointers made.
He’s also second in minutes played, third in points and assists, fifth in steals and fifth in free-throw percentage.
Is that the same AJ Johnson that was drafted by the Bucks?
Yes, former Bucks first-round draft pick AJ Johnson was also involved in this multi-team trade.
The 21-year-old Johnson, whose time in Milwaukee was brief, will be playing on his fourth team in his third NBA season in 2026-27.
The Dallas Mavericks sent Johnson to the Memphis Grizzlies, one of three players they’re getting from three different teams.
Johnson, the 23rd overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, only played in seven games with the Bucks in 2024-25 before being packaged with Middleton to the Wizards in February 2025. The Bucks acquired Kyle Kuzma, who remains in Milwaukee. Johnson got an opportunity to showcase his talents on a young Wizards team to finish out that season, even starting 11 games and averaging 27 minutes per game.
But his playing time was back to a minimum the next season and he was then sent to the Mavericks, again with Middleton, last season. In Dallas, he played in 23 games and averaged 3.9 points on 32.3% shooting in 10.4 minutes.
Who did the Bucks get in the trade?
The Bucks acquired Caris LeVert as well as two future second-round draft picks, all from the Pistons. The Bucks sent Gary Harris and Taurean Prince to the Pistons.
The Bucks will be LeVert’s sixth NBA team.
A former first-round pick, LeVert began his career with the Brooklyn Nets where he played 4½ years. He has since played for the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Pistons.
In his one year for the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Pistons last year, LeVert played in 60 games and averaged 7.4 points in 19.2 minutes off the bench.
It was the first season since his rookie year that he didn’t average double figures in scoring. His career high came when he played for the Nets and Pacers in 2020-21, averaging 20.2 points.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Khris Middleton returning to familiar team as part of a six-team trade
