02-27-2026, 03:42 PM
(02-27-2026, 03:29 PM)vfromlmf Wrote: I look at it like this: Middleton has as much left in the tank as Harrison Barnes. I'd like for KM to play a similar role in Dallas next year. I think both are great candidates for taxpayer-MLE or similar mid level deal.
So that's definitely part of the equation: what will his next contract look like? It's advantageous to have his Bird rights, I suppose, so you can give him a deal like that without actually using the exception (if such a thing is even possible - his cap hold is pretty big, I bet), but...that doesn't mean you'd necessarily want him on your books at money like that by the end of this next deal.
Even the TPMLE level scares me a bit with him, tbh, though it isn't an instant "no."