Why Washington Wizards Signing of Khris Middleton Will Influence Young Wings

· Yahoo Sports

On July 7th, 2026, the Washington Wizards made quite the shocking move when facilitating a sign and trade for 34 year-old wing Khris Middleton. 

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Washington sent D'Angelo Russell a 2029 second-round pick, a 2032 second-round swap and a 2033 second-round pick to Memphis to get the six-way trade done.

Washington then signed Middleton to a three-year, $17.6 million dollar contract which runs through the 2029 season.

While many fans are confused with the move due to Middleton's age and declining skills, I believe he will serve as an elite mentor for Washington's young and talented wing group, while getting occasional minutes off the bench.

Washington Wizards Forward Khris Middleton (22) | © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

As a three-time NBA All-Star, NBA Champion and Olympic gold medalist, Middleton has all the knowledge and experience needed to efficiently mentor Washington's young wing group consisting of Kyshawn George, Will Riley, Bilal Coulibaly, Cam Whitmore and now AJ Dybantsa. 

Middleton is a career 38.5% three point shooter, which is extremely impressive given his 4.6 attempts per game. 

Yet the veteran could play a role in the in-season transformation of Coulibaly and Dybantsa's jump shooting, given how they are mechanically and their ineffectiveness from deep. 

For Coulibaly, the main thing that is holding him back from developing into a potential All-Star is his shooting, as he's only shot 31.3% from behind the arc throughout his career. With the help and guidance of Middleton, I believe Couliably could finally make that jump as a 35.0% three point shooter. 

As for Dybantsa, Middleton is the perfect veteran to mentor him as they both live in the midrange. I believe Middleton can teach Dybantsa how to use his athleticism and elite midrange feel to score with ease, potentially making Dybantsa one of the best three-level scoring threats in the league. 

© Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Additionally, Middleton will have the opportunity to once again mentor Kyshawn George who has already seen vast improvement since his rookie year. 

Middleton not only will help develop George, but he'll teach him how to work as a primary ball handler for Washington, similar to how Middleton played in Milwaukee. 

While there's still a lot of room for improvement with Whitmore and Riley, having another veteran presence in the locker room will only speed up their development process. 

While Middleton isn't expected to get more playing time than Washington's young wings, he will certainly have a purpose and role for the next few seasons until he decides to step away from the game of basketball.

General manager Will Dawkins clearly saw signs of development from his youth when Middleton was in D.C., and believes that he could impact winning on and off the court going forward. 

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