Grading Jordan Nwora’s new two-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks
By Dalton Sell
After months of negotiating, the Milwaukee Bucks and former restricted free agent Jordan Nwora have finally figured out where the 24-year-old will play next season.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Nwora has agreed to a new two-year contract with the Bucks worth $6.2 million. Despite how long it took to negotiate the contract, it is not too shocking to see the forward stick around in Milwaukee. The front office has been high on him for quite a while, and they seemingly believe the former second round pick can be a long-term piece for the Bucks. With Nwora finally off the market with a new deal, let us break down the financial value of the contract and the forward’s fit and role before handing it an overall grade.
The financial value of Jordan Nwora’s two-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks
As reported by Wojnarowski, Jordan Nwora’s new deal is worth an eye-catching $6.2 million over the next two seasons. However, as noted by Spotrac, the deal is worth $5.8 million in guaranteed money and contains $400,000 in incentives. Nwora’s deal also does not contain a player or team option for the 2023-24 NBA season. Nwora netted quite a raise on this new deal, given that his qualifying offer in restricted free agency was worth a tick over $2 million for 2022-23. Nwora’s deal was seemingly held up this offseason due to the financial figures, and what the two sides ultimately agreed on is certainly an interesting result.
Given that Nwora was consistently in and out of the rotation over his first two seasons, his value financially was tough to gauge. At $2.9 million annually, his new deal is far from egregious, though some may argue the Bucks overpaid a tad. As highlighted previously, this deal signifies that Nwora has believers in the front office, especially because the team’s tax bill will increase significantly. Perhaps they envision a larger role for the third-year swingman in 2022-23. If this is the year where Nwora can finally carve out a legitimate role for himself with the Bucks, then this deal could look a lot different down the line. For now, it is simply fine.
Looking at another point of view, inking Nwora to this contract gives the Bucks another tradeable asset down the line should the Bucks continue their pursuit of Jordan Clarkson or explore a deal for Jae Crowder. If the Bucks are looking to make a trade at some point this season and they need to match salaries, Nwora’s $2.8 million salary could be incredibly useful. There are plenty of teams that would like to get their hands on a 24-year-old forward who has shown some signs of untapped potential throughout his first two NBA seasons. Nwora will not be trade eligible until at least December 26, but things could get interesting around the trade deadline.
All in all, the financial aspect of Nwora’s deal is reasonable as it allows the Bucks to retain one of their few young players while giving them a good future asset if needed.