Milwaukee Bucks: Is Brandon Knight Worth An Extension?

The Milwaukee Bucks are extremely excited about the future now that they have drafted former Duke star Jabari Parker, but they need a legitimate point guard and No. 2 scoring option to run alongside him. Brandon Knight was acquired from the Detroit Pistons in the same deal that sent Brandon Jennings out of town, and now the Bucks could be looking to sign him to a long-term extension. If the Bucks do indeed decide to give Knight the type of deal that he is looking for, they will have to break out some cash.

Is Knight worth an extension for the Bucks as they look to take the next step in their rebuilding process?

Knight showed quite a few flashes throughout the course of last season that showed his full potential, but there were still some consistency issues. At the age of 22, he has already played in three NBA seasons and has taken steps forward in each of his three seasons. He has plenty of room to grow as a player and a point guard, and plenty of time to do it.

Milwaukee sees him as a perfect second option behind Parker for the future, and it makes a lot of sense. The Bucks will likely be running a fairly up-tempo style of offense, and Knight can do that perfectly. Knight is a scoring first point guard, but as it currently stands he will have to shoulder a heavy part of the scoring load even with Parker on the roster.

Jason Kidd is the new head coach in Milwaukee, which could lead to a much improved Knight as well. Kidd is one of the best point guards to ever play the game, and he has always been a mentor to younger players. Knight is going to learn from one of the best pure point guards in the game, and that could mean a much better better balance between his scoring and playmaking ability.

Knight averaged 17.9 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game last season with the Bucks, and shot 42.2 percent from the field. His offense is just fine as you can see by those numbers, but he needs to do a lot of work on his point guard skills. If he can develop and reach his full potential, the Bucks might very well be looking at one of the best point guards in the league in a few seasons.

There are plenty of reasons for the Bucks to go ahead and commit to Knight long-term. He does have the game of a shooting guard at this point in time, but with good coaching like Kidd can bring, he has a great chance to hone his point guard skills to where they need to be. Milwaukee isn’t going to be one of the contenders in the Eastern Conference this season, but they aren’t too terribly far away. Give them a couple of seasons and they’ll be back in playoff contention.

All of that being said, the Bucks need to get a deal done very soon if they’re going to get one done with Knight. He’ll likely command a deal around $8-9 million per season, which is fairly good value for Milwaukee. There are still some question marks surrounding Knight’s game, but the Bucks seem to be comfortable with giving him a new contract.

When everything is said and done, the Bucks have found a very promising young point guard to help the next stage of the rebuilding process. Milwaukee simply needs to find more quality players to surround Parker and Knight with, and they’ll be good to go. A new head coach, new franchise player, and point guard of the future sounds very good.

Expect to hear more rumors about the Bucks talking to Knight about an extension over the next few weeks as the season continues to draw closer.

Evan Massey is a Staff Writer for HoopsHabit.com.