Eric Bledsoe, Bucks Reportedly Agree to 4-Year, $70 Million Contract Extension

The Milwaukee Bucks and guard Eric Bledsoe have reportedly agreed to a four-year, $70 million contract extension, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Bledsoe was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Bucks can now turn their attention to small forward Khris Middleton, who is the most important pending free agent on the team assuming he opts out as expected.

The 29-year-old Bledsoe is in his second season with the Bucks after getting traded to Milwaukee from the Phoenix Suns in November 2017. Bledsoe has been a key part of the Bucks' success this season, averaging 15.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting a career-high 49.2 percent from the field.

Bledsoe appeared in just three games for the Suns last year after requesting a trade during the preseason. Phoenix dealt him to the Bucks for Greg Monroe, a 2018 second-round pick and a 2019 first-round pick, and he quickly made an impact for Milwaukee.

In his 71 games with the Bucks last season, Bledsoe averaged 17.8 points, 5.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals.

Bledsoe spent the first three years of his NBA career with the Los Angeles Clippers after being the No. 18 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft out of Kentucky. The Clippers traded him to the Suns in 2013, and he blossomed in Phoenix.

In parts of five seasons with the Suns, Bledsoe averaged 18.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals. That included a career-high 21.1 points per game in 2016-17.

With Bledsoe as the fourth-leading scorer and second-leading assist man on the team this season, the Bucks have the NBA's best record at 47-14. They hold a 2.5-game lead over the Toronto Raptors for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and have a strong chance to make the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974.

While Giannis Antetokounmpo receives most of the credit for Milwaukee's success, Bledsoe has been a stabilizing force in the backcourt. Alongside 2016-17 NBA Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, Bledsoe has helped form one of more the dynamic guard combos in the league.

Signing Bledsoe gives the Bucks one less thing to worry about since Middleton, starting center Brook Lopez and forward Nikola Mirotic are all slated to hit free agency.

Antetokounmpo alone gives the Bucks a good chance to remain competitive for the foreseeable future, but locking in Bledsoe means a good portion of Milwaukee's core is here to stay.