Pat Connaughton Exercises Player Option to Remain w/ Bucks

June 22nd marked the deadline for Pat Connaughton to either accept or reject his player option for the upcoming season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

I think many of us expected Connaughton to be a member of the Bucks this upcoming season, but I also imagine many thought that his path to being with Milwaukee would have included him declining the player option, hitting free agency, and cashing in on a new contract after an impressive season.

However, that won’t be the case. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Connaughton has picked up his player option for the 2022-2023 season, which comes with a salary of $5.7 million.

The Milwaukee Bucks now have more financial flexibility moving forward

As I just mentioned, had Connaughton elected free agency, he would have made much more than $5.7 million for the upcoming year. This move will now allow Milwaukee to spend some big money elsewhere—most notably on Bobby Portis, who has a player option of his own.

Connaughton’s decision to pick up his player option is a very team-friendly one for the Milwaukee Bucks, but as John Hollinger of The Athletic pointed out, he is now eligible to sign an extension next month worth as much as $12 million per year and with a contract length of up to four more years.

This move very much seems like a win-win for both sides. The Bucks gain some needed financial flexibility, and Connaughton has the ability to sign a more lucrative and longer-term deal.

Connaughton is coming off a very good season and, in recent years, he has cemented himself as one of the key role players on this Bucks team—both on the offensive and defensive ends.

Over 26 minutes per contest last season, Connaughton made 39.5% of his 5.7 three-point attempts each game — both of which are career highs — and scored 9.9 points per game — another career high — with 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

As I alluded to above, the next big domino to fall will be what Portis does, as he has a player option of his own to make a decision on.

Once again, if I had to guess, I would expect Portis to opt-out in search of a more lucrative long-term deal—which very well could still be in Milwaukee as the Bucks are now better equipped to give that to him with Connaughton picking up his player option.