Sources: Bucks' Connaughton picks up option

Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton has exercised his $9.4 million player option for the 2025-26 season, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

He had a deadline of Tuesday to make a decision on the option.

Even with the $9.4 million now on the books, the Bucks still project to be below the first apron this summer and able to sign a player to the $14.1 million midlevel exception, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.

Connaughton, 32, spent his seventh season with the Bucks last year but averaged his fewest minutes since 2016-17 (14.7) and played in just 41 games.

A second-round draft pick in 2015, Connaughton signed with the Bucks as a free agent in 2018 after spending three seasons in Portland. He became a key rotation player for the team over the next several years and was one of the few members of the Bucks' 2021 championship team left on last season's roster.

Connaughton signed a three-year, $28 million deal with Milwaukee in 2023.