Milwaukee Bucks’ Brandon Knight Setting Himself Up for Huge Contract Extension
By Joseph Crevier
@JosephMCrevier
Andy Lyons-Getty Images
The Detroit Pistons appeared to be poised to compete for a playoff spot after the 2013 offseason when they signed free agent Josh Smith and acquired Brandon Jennings via sign-and-trade from the Milwaukee Bucks. In exchange, Detroit sent away a two young prospects, Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton, who has evolved into quite productive players — especially Knight.
The Pistons selected the former Kentucky Wildcats player with the eighth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, hoping to shore up their very thin point guard position. Detroit handed starter duties over to Knight immediately upon his arrival, and the young star showed encouraging signs, but clearly needed time for development. After just two years, management pulled the plug on Knight, shipped him away to the lowly Bucks and have regretted the decision ever since.
The two teams faced off in a divisional matchup in which Milwaukee prevailed to improved to an impressive 8-7, while the Pistons dropped to an embarrassing 3-11. While Jennings sat the bench with an apparent injury, Knight turned 20 points and eight assists on 58 percent shooting to improve on a career season.
The fourth-year point guard will enter the market next summer as a restricted free agent, as he’s likely to receive numerous hefty offers if his stellar play continues throughout the season. He failed to reach an extension with the Bucks prior to the deadline, but the two sides have shown a common desire to keep the team’s extremely youthful core intact for the foreseeable future.
Head coach Jason Kidd has put a tremendous amount of trust on Knight as he’s the only player playing 30-plus minutes. He’s also been the catalyst to Milwaukee’s incredible start to the season, improving on a 2013-14 campaign when they were bottom-feeders for its entirety.
No matter how the remainder of the regular season unfolds, Milwaukee clearly won the Jennings saga and must lock up their point guard long-term at the season’s end. A core of Knight, Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo is certainly an intriguing one moving forward.
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