Brandon Jennings Not Worried About Contract Extension, Milwaukee Bucks Should Be

Milwaukee Buck's point guard Brandon Jennings is entering his fourth and final year of his rookie contract and becomes eligible for a contract extension this summer.

He doesn't seem overly concerned.

"I will let Bill Duffy handle that. That's what he does. I will leave it up to Bill Duffy and John Hammond. It's really not my department," Jennings told the Milwaukee Sentinel from Los Angeles on Friday.

If he's not worried about it, somebody should be.

Jennings raised eyebrows in February by discussing that he was studying some big market teams for when his contract expires at the end of this season.

Earlier this month, general manager John Hammond was quoted saying "it's not something we have to do" at a press conference adding to a sense of uncertainty for the young point guard's future.

However, Hammond has been talking about continuing certainty lately. But with the rumors of coach Scott Skiles interest in the Orlando Magic vacancy and forward Ersan Ilyasova entering free agency, one has to wonder what could be certain for the Bucks organization moving forward?

Brandon Jennings.

Jennings has done what many players have not been able to do in the last ten years—give a face to the franchise. Outside of Jennings the only one that comes to mind is All-star and Olympian Michael Redd. Others have been plugged in as pseudo franchise players (i.e. Andrew Bogut), but Jennings brings a concrete foundation to build around.

On the court, Jennings is coming off a career high season in PPG at 19.1 and he also averaged 5.5 assists. Paired with recently added Monta Ellis, Bucks fans should be nothing short of giddy for this upcoming season.

Should be.

Milwaukee needs to get this extension done preferably before the season starts. The backcourt of Jennings and Ellis is one that fans would like to enjoy for a long time. As a fan it's hard to enjoy a season wondering if your star will be in the same uniform next year.

You heard me. Star. Normally when talking about Jennings the adjective "budding" is put right before. Consensus around the league is that Jennings isn't on the level of those like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Russel Westbrook.

However, Brandon was considered to be an All-star snub this year, and this was on a roster where he was the only offensive option for a majority of the season. Supplemented with another scoring option in Ellis and the team's big man issues addressed, Jennings is poised to join the top tier point guards of the league.

The Milwaukee Bucks are coming to a dangerous crossroad. With limited success, they've been working towards becoming relevant again in the Eastern Conference. Barely missing out on the playoffs last year hurt, but recent moves have given the Buck's faithful hope. The upcoming ones are imperative.

The Jennings contract should be on the top priority for Milwaukee. He's everything a team could want: young, productive, a leader, and perhaps most importantly— he's marketable. The top office knows it, and the rest of the NBA does as well.

Arguably the most popular Buck of the last decade, Jennings has given hope back to Milwaukee. He deserves to be rewarded.

The fans deserve to be rewarded.

Don't we?