Khris Middleton is headed back to Washington, and the Mavericks are part of the ripple effect.
A six-team trade that came together Tuesday evening includes Middleton’s sign-and-trade to the Wizards, along with Dallas’ previously reported deal for Memphis forward Santi Aldama. The move had been building for a while, and Dallas’ silence on the Aldama transaction after the league year opened was a strong sign it was tied into something much bigger.
ESPN reported that the deal spans the Mavericks, Wizards, Clippers, Pistons, Bucks and Grizzlies. It also folds in a string of already agreed-upon moves, including John Collins, Gary Harris and Taurean Prince going to Detroit, Isaiah Stewart to Memphis, Santi Aldama to Dallas and Caris LeVert to Milwaukee.
For Dallas, the transaction sends AJ Johnson to Milwaukee, plus a 2030 conditional first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick to Memphis. In return, the Mavericks land young point guard Marcus Sasser from the Pistons.
Middleton’s return to Washington comes after he spent the back half of the 2024-25 season there and the front half of the next year before being moved to Dallas in the package for Anthony Davis. His new deal is worth $17.6 million over three years. The soon-to-be 35-year-old averaged 10 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 21.1 minutes per game for Dallas, appearing in 29 games with 16 starts after the trade.
The sign-and-trade also gives Dallas a $5.6 million trade exception, which is enough to absorb Sasser’s salary. More importantly for the Mavericks’ flexibility, it leaves their full taxpayer midlevel exception of more than $20 million intact for other free-agent business.
Middleton isn’t the only former Dallas piece moving again. D’Angelo Russell, another part of the Mavericks’ trade of Davis to Washington, was sent from Washington to Memphis on Tuesday along with two future second-round picks. Jaden Hardy, also acquired in that February move, is now with the Los Angeles Lakers after Washington sent him and two future second-rounders to LA for center Deandre Ayton.
For Dallas, this is the second free agent to land elsewhere, with Middleton joining Marvin Bagley III as Mavericks who won’t be back next season.
The bigger picture in Dallas is hard to miss. New Mavs president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is clearly pushing the roster younger as the team builds around 19-year-old star Cooper Flagg for the long haul. The Mavericks also used last month’s draft to add two first-round picks: No. 9 overall selection Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio De Larrea out of the top Spanish league.
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The path to getting it done was not simple, though, and the timing mattered. Biberovic had to clear an opt-out deadline tied to his Fenerbahce contract, and the Mavericks also had to navigate the buyout process under NBA rules before the signing could become official. For Dallas, it is the kind of overseas holdover resolution that can quietly matter, especially when a player has been on the radar long enough to become part of the franchises future planning. [Read more 🡒]
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Aldama is the most intriguing of the bunch because he gives Dallas a 7-foot forward who can stretch the floor, and Sasser offers another backcourt option who can score and shoot from deep. The bigger question now is how much of this shooting makeover actually sticks once the roster is finalized, because the Mavericks still have one more move in the pipeline that could determine whether this really is the fix they were looking for. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Are Chasing Luka's Old Mavs Formula For Better Or Worse
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But there is a reason this kind of copycat approach comes with caution attached. Dallas version of the formula did not end with a championship, and the Lakers still have to answer the same kind of roster questions that can make or break a contender, especially on the wing where a dependable perimeter defender remains a major need. For Los Angeles, the challenge is not just looking like the Mavericks did, but proving the blueprint can actually take a team all the way. [Read more 🡒]