Milwaukee Bucks: Grayson Allen Receives Contract Extension
By Paul Bretl
Monday was the final day for the Milwaukee Bucks, as well as the rest of the NBA, to sign rookie contract extensions to eligible players. For the Bucks, they had two players who fit into this category, Grayson Allen and Donte DiVincenzo.
While Allen is yet to suit up in a regular-season game for the Milwaukee Bucks, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, he was the one to receive the rookie extension, which is for two years and worth $20 million.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen has agreed on a two-year, $20 million rookie extension, his agent Mitch Nathan of @CAA_Basketball tells ESPN. Allen arrived with the defending champions in a trade this summer. He was the 21st pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 18, 2021
Milwaukee acquired Allen this summer from the Memphis Grizzlies via trade. In return, the Bucks sent Sam Merrill and two future second-round picks to Memphis.
Allen was the 21st overall pick in 2018 by Utah — DiVincenzo was 17th that year — and has averaged 8.5 points per game along with 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. He averaged only 10.9 minutes per game as a rookie and then 18.9 minutes during his second season, which was with the Grizzlies.
This past year, however, was a career year for Allen. He played on average 25.5 minutes per contest and scored 10.6 points while adding 2.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and nearly 1.0 steal per game.
Allen would shoot 39.1 percent from deep — his career average is 38.1 percent — on 5.5 three-point attempts per game. He’s a career 83 percent free throw shooter as well.
Although Allen has only played in a few preseason games with the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s clear that he fits well in the system. He has also performed well, logging 11.3 points per game and knocking down 45.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc in 22.4 minutes per game.
This really is a low-risk move for the Milwaukee Bucks. If Allen becomes the starting shooting guard that they believe he can be, his contract will be very team-friendly. But on the flip side, if things don’t pan out, his contract is still a tradeable asset.
For DiVincenzo, however, things become much less clear. He is still sidelined with a foot injury that he sustained during the playoffs but is now much more likely to be traded at some point this season. If he remains with Milwaukee throughout the season, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
The Milwaukee Bucks begin their title defense on Tuesday evening against the Brooklyn Nets.