The climb that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took to get the Boston Celtics over the hump had plenty of obstacles. Many talk about the superstars they had to take down to reach championship status, but there's one non-superstar player that they also had to fight tooth and nail to get past back in the early days: Khris Middleton.
Middleton, who was floated as a buyout target for the Celtics not too long ago, not only elected to stay with Dallas (an actually pretty smart financial move on his part), but told Dallas Hoops Journal's Grant Afseth that he may stick around with the Mavericks after the season is over.
“For sure. I love the city of Dallas, I’ve been here before,” Middleton told Afseth. “I like where things are headed here. I like the way they’re trying to do things here, so we’ll see what happens.”
Middleton staying in Dallas means he would only be Boston's problem if the two teams were to rematch in the NBA Finals. The Mavericks have a lot of ground to make up there to get back, but never say never. Regardless, the headline here is that Middleton will not be Boston's problem if he decides to stay with Dallas.
Middleton's history as a Celtics killer
Anyone who has watched the Jays from the beginning remembers what Middleton did to them and the Celtics back in 2018. He and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the Jays first challenge that the Celtics duo barely escaped, and Middleton's numbers (24.7 points on nearly 60% shooting from the field and over 60% from three) prove how terrifying he was in that series
Middleton didn't put up the same numbers when the Bucks and Celtics had a rematch the following year, but anyone who was watching knew that Celtics team was a time bomb that finally imploded on itself in that playoff series (thanks again for nothing, Kyrie!)
In his mid-30s, he's no longer the player he was when he was at the top of his game as a Buck, but there's still enough juice left in his game to give Boston hell. Luckily, he'll only be someone else's problem until further notice.
Of course, the Celtics have the option to try to bring Middleton aboard, but with their wing depth as strong as it is behind the Jays - Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and even Ron Harper Jr. - that doesn't feel necessary.
It's been a long time since Middleton puts Celtics fans on notice, and hopefully when it's all said and done, it will stay that way.