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PHOENIX – Khris Middleton’s career started to take shape and skyrocket when he was coached by Jason Kidd when the duo worked for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Middleton arrived with the Bucks in 2013 – one year after spending his rookie season with the Detroit Pistons. The following season, Kidd spent his first of four seasons coaching the Bucks.
Now, Kidd and Middleton are back together again after the latter was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Mavs Thursday in a three-team trade that also involved the Charlotte Hornets.
“He caught me at an early age where he was able to teach me a lot,” Middleton said. “The way he saw the game, the way he approached the game and how to be professional on and off the court, it was very important on how my career turned out.
“He knows the things that I was able to do in Milwaukee and I’m happy to be playing for him again.”
Likewise, Kidd is happy to be coaching Middleton again.
“I think when you talk about Khris’ basketball journey, it started in Detroit and he was part of a trade,” Kidd said. “Some say he was a throw-in.
“He can post. He can shoot it. So, for me it was exciting to be able to work with Khris early on in his basketball journey. He did all the hard work.”
And that hard work obviously paid off as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined to form one of the most devastating one-two punches in the NBA.
“When we got (Middleton) he was probably our best player at the time -- Giannis not that far behind,” Kidd said. “And I thought he was a good mentor and a good teammate to Giannis. They complimented each other well.”
Kidd was coaching the Bucks when Middleton earned his first major NBA contract – a five-year, $70 million deal he signed on July 9, 2015. That came one year after Middelton earned just $915,000 during the 2014-’15 season.
Middleton went on to earn All-Star berths in 2019, 20 and 22. He also played a pivotal role when the Bucks captured the NBA title in 2021 -- the same year he helped the United States win a gold medal at the Olympics in Tokyo.
To a man, Middleton praised the way Kidd was always straight-forward with him. He even uses those same tactics when he’s talking with younger players who are trying to find their way around the NBA.
“I learned from J-Kidd and a lot of other guys,” Middleton said. “J-Kidd was a guy that played at the highest level in this league and he was just being honest.
“When you see something, say something, and if guys have a question, be honest with them, be fully transparent with them and let them know sometimes you made mistakes and you have to learn from them in different ways. So, that’s the type of approach I try to take.”
Mavs guard Max Christie is starving at the opportunity to learn from a player with Middleton’s knowledge.
“I know me personally I like being around someone like him,” Christie said. “He’s such a great player.
“He’s someone I’m going to observe, continue to try to be around, continue to try and take bits and pieces from, because he’s a great player and someone I definitely have a lot of respect for.”
Before joining the Mavs, Middleton already had close ties to Texas since he played for the Texas A&M Aggies from 2009-’12. During his second year at A&M he led the Aggies in scoring at 14.3 points per game and earned second-team all-Big 12 honors.
“Big 12 basketball was definitely a different style than it is nowadays,” Middleton said. “Low scoring (games). A lot more physical.
“I think it got me ready for what I wanted to eventually do, and that was come to the league. My time at A&M was great. Three years there I made the (NCAA) tournament twice.”
Also, Middleton’s cousin, forward Josh Powell, played his first NBA year with the Mavs during the 2005-’06 season. Middleton remembers having conversations with Powell about his days playing for the Mavs.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet,” Middleton said. “But he was very high about his time in Dallas and the organization and how they treated their players and the city of Dallas, how great that city is.
“So, I’m excited that after the All-Star break once I get to Dallas to visit around it. I used to spend a lot of time there while I was in college, so it’ll be fun to get back there a little bit more.”
Middleton said he hasn’t had any conversations with the Mavs’ front office on how they plan to use him the rest of this season.
“We haven’t gotten to that point,” he said. “I don’t know if we will. My focus right now is just playing basketball.
“I’m just trying to learn. I had one practice with them yesterday. I think I’m going to learn a little bit more – most of it during the game where I can fit in, how I can help and how they can help me.”
Middleton is very excited about the chance to play alongside rookie forward Cooper Flagg and all of the different talents that he brings to the table.
“The guy’s a beast,” Middleton said. “I played him twice already -- I was only available for one game. He’s doing great things, he’s improving every time he steps on the court, he’s taking on the challenge every night, he’s accepted it, and I think that’s great as a young player.
“With so many ups and downs during the NBA season – and I’m pretty sure there were so many expectations – I think he’s been handling it well. So, I’m excited to get to know him a little bit more.”
Middleton has four seasons where he averaged at least 20 points per game. His first came under Kidd when he averaged 20.1 in a career-high 36.4 minutes and also started all 82 games during the 2017-18 season.
A series of injuries have hampered Middleton in recent years. Yet he averaged 10.3 points in 24.3 minutes this season for the Wizards before they shipped him to the Mavs.
“Just being out there and playing, that’s been the struggle for me these last couple of years,” Middleton said. “It’s been so far so good this season, so I just want to end the season strong and be available.
“During the season when you get traded things move fast, so I’m just trying to get accustomed to everything, how to move around. I’m just trying to get accustomed to how they do things here.”
That’s exactly what Middleton did when he joined the Bucks following his first season in the NBA. He had to get accustomed to how they did things.
But whenever Middelton finally settled in, his career took off.
“When he got hurt when he tore his hamstring and he worked extremely hard to get back, I think that was something as a coach to see someone get hurt on his way, and then understanding that he was a fighter,” Kidd said. “For him to be able to come back from that hamstring injury and put up the numbers that he did, and also he’s coachable.
“We asked him to shoot more threes because he could, and back then that wasn’t a thing to do. So, he did all the work and he took off.”
X: @DwainPrice