Khris Middleton is on the move again, and this time the veteran forward is headed back to Washington.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Middleton has agreed to a three-year, $17.6 million deal that will send him to the Wizards in a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks. The agreement is part of a sprawling six-team transaction that also includes the Wizards, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Bucks, Clippers and Pistons.
Washington is also shipping veteran guard D’Angelo Russell to Memphis, along with future second-round draft compensation, Charania reported.
Middleton, a three-time All-Star, split last season between Washington and Dallas and finished with averages of 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Josh Robbins of The Athletic reported that only the first year of Middleton’s new contract is fully guaranteed.
In Philadelphia, the Sixers are looking at Anfernee Simons as more than just a scoring spark off the bench. Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice wrote that Simons gives the team another proven perimeter scorer and one of the league’s better three-point shooters to pair with Tyrese Maxey.
Simons also addressed the concerns that come with Philadelphia’s smaller backcourt. “When a team has a common goal of competing on that side of the ball and stays connected, I think a lot of those things can be mitigated,” Simons said, via Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
“That’s one of the things I learned instantly when I came to Boston. The intensity defensively has to be higher.”
Over in Brooklyn, Mikel Brown Jr. made his presence felt right away. The sixth overall pick scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter and added four assists in his Summer League debut, drawing praise from the Nets’ coaching staff.
“He’s electric. He showed his ability to get downhill,” Summer League coach Dutch Gaitley said, according to C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News.
It was just one Summer League game, but Brown gave Brooklyn another glimpse of why he’s one of the key pieces in the team’s rebuilding picture.
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