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

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 has 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 in a career-high 26.0 minutes per game 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 three-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, with whom he won an NBA championship last year.

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