All-Star’s three-year lead Chris Middleton has refused his $40 million choice of players with the Milwaukee Bucks to become a free agent, his agents Mike Lindeman and Jeff Schwartz.

A return to the Bucks on a new deal remains a possibility.

The injuries hit Middleton from the 2022 playoffs when he lost the last 10 Milwaukee playoffs to a spin-off MCL. During last year’s off-season, he underwent left wrist surgery, which set him aside for the first 20 games of the 2022-23 season.

On 2 December 2022, he returned and played six out of seven games before losing 18 games forward with pain in his right knee.

Middleton, 31, will not participate in the injured season but limit him to 33 games. The wrist injury limited Middleton early in the season, while his right knee injury forced him to go out late. Middleton underwent knee surgery shortly after Milwaukee appeared in the short playoffs, resulting in a first-round defeat to eastern league champion Miami Heat.

After averaging 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assistants while joining his third All-Star team in 2021-22, Middleton has only 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assistants in just 24.3 minutes per game in injury 0 plus 20223.

Middleton played 10 of his 11 NBA seasons with the Bucks after being drafted and played for the Detroit Pistons in 2012.