Anyway, Middelton is a skilled two way player that can shoot it from deep and defend multiple positions. I have liked him for a while but thought he would be a cheap steal. This year he has upped his game in less minutes and created a buzz for himself.

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/andyblarsen/status/571318320064020481

Morey made that quote at the MIT Sloan conference. Middelton is putting up some numbers that has advance stat geeks giddy.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2371863-meet-khris-middleton-the-most-underrated-player-in-the-nba

Milwaukee is never better on both ends than when Middleton is on the floor, according to NBA.com. The team's net rating goes from plus-10.0 points per 100 possessions when Middleton is on the court to minus-4.9 points per 100 possessions when he sits on the bench—the equivalent of going from the second-best team in the league to 25th. Woof.

Milwaukee’s offense melts when Middleton hits the pine, going from 104.9 points per 100 possessions to 98.7 points per 100 possessions. And the defense goes from 94.9 points per 100 possessions to 103.6 points per 100 possessions with Middleton on and off the court.

It's impossible to ignore these numbers, but we can’t solely lean on on/off numbers when measuring any one player’s influence (according to ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus stat, Middleton is the NBA’s sixth-best player). Still, this is still extremely impressive stuff and warrants closer examination. How is a third-year player who’s averaging fewer minutes than he did a year ago having an MVP-candidate-worthy impact on a playoff team?

I think what has really set him apart is the move to SG. His ability to play the two guard at 6'8(w/shoes) has changed his value. He is able to use his size offensively and defensively to make a huge impact.
http://www.bucksketball.com/2015/02/khris-middleton-is-about-to-get-paid/

The one noticeably different thing about his game this season is an apparent increased willingness to post up. Middleton’s 22-39 out of the post this season, and while he’s posted up on only about 8% of his possessions, he’s averaging better than one point per possession out of the post, good enough to place him within the league’s top 20 among players who average at least 10 minutes per game and have at least 10 post-ups.

“I have smaller guys guarding me in the shooting guard position and if my shot wasn’t falling, I just try to put them in a bind by going in the post and see what they would do,” Middleton said. “Every time I get in the post I’m not looking to shoot, most of the time I’m looking for the help, because they know I have a smaller player on me. So I’m looking for the pass out and trying to take advantage of it.”

To me his move to SG is what could make him so important to the knicks. Formerly he was playing more small forward and power forward and I thought if he came to the knicks it would mean that Anthony would have to move back to the PF position in a small ball attack. Now, Middleton can potentially play the two and the front court would not be so undersized. They can potentially go out and get a power forward in free agency.

Another thing of value is his age. Middleton is 23 and will turn 24 this summer. He is younger than every FA previously listed which means he could have more room to grow. Leonard is a month and some change older while Butler will be 26 in Sept and Green is turning 25 in 3 days. He could possibly make a jump like Butler did. I like to think of him as a Nicolas Batum type player. If he can become grow more as a passer he could really become a great player.

So, how can the knicks get Middleton? The Larry Sanders buyout and Knight Trade really hurt teams chances to outbid the Bucks for Middelton at a lower price. I personally would take the risk and sign him to a Parsons type deal, language and all.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11654821/how-dallas-mavericks-stole-chandler-parsons-houston-rockets

In one of his first interviews after Houston elected not to match the Mavericks’ offer sheet to Parsons, Morey told SportsTalk 790 AM in Houston: “That structure of that [contract] is literally one of the most untradeable structures that I’ve ever seen.”

The wrinkle that made it so: Parsons signed a tricky three-year deal with the Mavs, with an option to return to free agency after Year 2, as opposed to the four-year offer sheet Dallas, or any other external suitor, could have lavished on him…And that led him to the three-year construction, featuring the Year 2 player option and a maximum 15 percent trade kicker. He then took to it Cuban, convinced that the new formula would put the most pressure on Houston to let Parsons go if the Rockets hoped to maintain the utmost flexibility. For the following reasons:

• Players in the first year of a matched offer sheet can’t be traded without their consent.

• With the ability to become a free agent after the second year, Parsons would likely have diminished trade value to small-market teams fearful he’d simply leave at the first opportunity … while also potentially dissuading big-market teams that prize flexibility from trading for him and then seeing Parsons decide to opt in for the third year.

• The trade kicker in this contract could also prove to be even more expensive than usual, were Parsons to be dealt, if the salary cap rises as dramatically as some are projecting thanks to the TV money expected to pour into the league in the near future, as ESPN.com’s Larry Coon explains in greater detail here.

If you are willing to spend the money on Green why not Middelton who affects the game on both ends and can guard 3-4 positions? I realize that kind of contract would lead to the Knicks only having early bird rights on him but I think it is worth the risk. Who knows maybe a 4 yr max deal would get him out of Milwaukee. Either way I think they should go after him his numbers all around are great. Plus he is only 23, Draymond turns 25 in 4 days.

On another note, I wonder if it has to be either or? In my perfect dream World the summer would go Middleton, Towns/Russell/Okafor, Draymond Green, and Ajinca with the exception. The knicks could also do an offer sheet with similar language for Draymond Green. They might need to cut/trade Calderon to make it work if both players get MAX offers. If GSW matches then I hope the knicks would use the Green money on Joseph and Koufos with Ajinca getting the exception. Again, Joseph is a RFA and wording would needed to be added to get him away from SA but he could be had for $5-7M.

A lineup of Joseph, Middelton, Anthony, Towns, and Koufos would be nice. Ajinca, Galloway, Hardaway, and fillers would be a nice start to a rebuild.

Stats:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/middlkh01.html

http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/203114/tracking/defense/

http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/203114/tracking/shots/

http://www.82games.com/1415/14MIL10.HTM

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/sort/RPM

His size/length and shooting ability is a rare combination that is quite under rated, along with his steals

Not sure if a Poison Pill would do it anymore with the trade but was considering using the Poison Pill on both Middleton and Draymond Green, with Lin/Asik type deals, then some HIGH IQ players and players with potential like Aijinca on a 3year deal...

FistOfOakley wrote:there is very little reason that a team like the bucks will let go a promising young guy on the level of middleton... they are very aware of how good he is... the hope is that something like the pg musical chairs that happened at the trade deadline occurs in FA... the bucks being more interested in leonard, butler and harris....

plus there's the question of giving him max money... which i am just not sure about... there's some upside but there's a very good chance that there is little growth left in his game... at something like 12 million it's a good risk... above that it starts becoming iffy much like the parsons deal...

His growth will come in his passing which has improved and if he can get to the FA line. One thing I did not mentioned was his FT shooting which is very good, career avg 85.7%. That could become a weapon.

Even if he doesn't take a huge jump offensively his defensive potential and impact is money worthy.

but max money should not be thrown around for guys like this unless you are a player away from contending... it has a very high likelihood of not doing well... unless you have other areas where you can outperform the salary you will never escape mediocrity...

callmened wrote:Who said middleton is a 2 way player? He's a nice shooter with a limited game. I'd spend 10 mill but not max.

The only chance at this is overpaying. 10mm will be ponied up by multiple clubs. No one else is worth 10mm in free agency. If we have any chance at all Wed have to be aggressive about it to the tilt. If the knicks are not aggressive and assertive to the draft and free agency we don't have the right management