Milwaukee Bucks: Risk and reward of a potential Jabari Parker contract extension
Jabari Parker is a young and extremely talented franchise building player who has now torn his ACL twice. As a result, the Milwaukee Bucks have decisions to make when it comes to extending his contract.
Prior to ever taking to an NBA court with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jabari Parker was dubbed by Sports Illustrated as the best high school player since LeBron James.
Parker attended Duke university for one year under the tutelage of coach Mike Krzyzewski before declaring for the NBA draft. The Bucks then selected Parker with the second overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft and the excitement of Bucks fans began to rise.
In the time since, there has been plenty of cause for further optimism among Bucks fans, although to date Parker hasn’t always been at the center of what’s translated on the court.
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Two of Parker’s three seasons in the NBA have been cut short with ACL injuries, both in his rookie season and in the season that has just wrapped up for Milwaukee. While the circumstances and personnel were different in each year, it must be noted the Milwaukee Bucks made the playoffs in both of the seasons that Parker fell to injury.
Now with his rookie deal winding down, player and team are both put in a difficult situation. As it stands with Parker still in the early stages of rehabilitation, both parties have to take a hard look at the risks and rewards of a possible contract extension.
Parker is under contract with Milwaukee for next season with the team having exercised its fourth year option, but is eligible for an early extension this summer that would prevent him from hitting the market as a restricted free agent next summer.
What are the chances of that materializing, and what would it mean for Parker and the Bucks? Let’s get into some of the details.