Sources: Bucks extend Bledsoe for 4 years, $70M
Jalen Rose explains why it was a good idea for Eric Bledsoe to sign an extension with the Bucks in the middle of the season rather than the offseason. (1:22)
Milwaukee Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe has agreed to a four-year, $70 million contract extension, league sources told ESPN.
Bledsoe could’ve become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but he wanted to play the rest of his prime with the franchise and finalized an extension that will start to set the market for free-agent guards in the July marketplace.
The Spurs have bought out Pau Gasol, clearing the way for the six-time All-Star to join the Bucks, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Bledsoe’s agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports and Bucks GM Jon Horst completed the deal on Friday, league sources said.
Bledsoe, 29, is having his best season in the NBA for the Eastern Conference-leading Bucks, averaging 15.7 points, 5.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. He’s also shooting a career-best 49 percent from the field.
The Bucks defeat the Kings 141-140 in overtime, behind Eric Bledsoe’s triple-double and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 17 points.
The deal secures one of the Bucks’ cornerstone players long-term and allows them to move into free agency with a focus on retaining forward Khris Middleton, who can become a free agent in July.
The Bucks acquired Bledsoe early in the 2017-18 season from the Phoenix Suns. Bledsoe has played nine NBA seasons with the Clippers, Suns and Bucks.
He was the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Kentucky.