Bucks’ Pat Connaughton Reportedly Exercises $5.7M Contract Option for 2022-23 Season

AP Photo/Jon Durr

Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Pat
Connaughton will exercise the $5.7
million player option in his contract for the 2022-23 NBA season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Connaughton developed into a key role
player across the past four years in Milwaukee after starting his
career with three seasons as a little-used reserve for the Portland
Trail Blazers.

The 29-year-old Massachusetts native is
coming off a 2021-22 campaign in which he averaged 9.9 points, 4.2
rebounds, 2.2 threes and 1.3 assists across 65 appearances. He made a
career-high 19 starts as the Bucks dealt with a series of injuries.

Connaughton has also worked to become a major threat
from beyond the arc, knocking down a career-best 39.5 percent of his
three-point attempts this past season.

In April, the 2015 second-round pick credited former Bucks
assistant coach Ben Sullivan, who’s now with the Boston Celtics, for
giving him “super helpful” tips to help become a more consistent
shooter.

“His big message was that you need a
simple, powerful shot that you can repeat at any point,” he said. “You’re not always going to be wide open
and if there’s less moving parts but your shot remains powerful, you
can repeat that more often than not.”

Add in a defense that has graded out
positively in all his four years with Milwaukee, according to
FiveThirtyEight’s Raptor metrics, and he’s emerged as a prototypical
3-and-D asset off the bench, which is an important weapon for any championship hopeful.

The Notre Dame product likely could have secured a
multiyear contract with a higher salary than he’ll receive next
season but, as a player whose role has evolved over seven years, he
understands the importance of fit. He’s found a niche with the
Bucks.

Connaughton will look to
build off his recent success and put himself in position to land an
even more lucrative deal next offseason, either from Milwaukee or
another team. Expect his role to remain pretty much the same heading into
2022-23.