

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst has agreed to a multi-year contract extension, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. After weeks of negotiating, Horst, 42, remains in Milwaukee as the organization’s lead decision maker.
The Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship, the franchise’s second title, sits at the top of Horst’s accomplishments on his resume. Trading for Jrue Holiday, signing Bobby Portis as a free agent and trading for PJ Tucker were Horst’s big moves that helped the Bucks win the franchise’s first title in 50 seasons.
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Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been central to the Bucks’ success over that time, and he has agreed to two contract extensions — first, a five-year supermax extension worth $228 million in 2020 and then, another three-year supermax extension worth $186 million in 2023 — with Horst as Milwaukee’s GM.
Since Horst took over as Bucks’ general manager in June of 2017, the Bucks have been the league’s second-winningest regular-season franchise with a 412-225 record (.647 winning percentage), trailing only the Boston Celtics.
The Bucks are one of just six teams to win an NBA championship during Horst’s tenure, but the team’s lack of playoff success since 2021 left some around the league wondering if Horst’s future in Milwaukee may be in danger if the Bucks fail to make a deep run this postseason. The Bucks, however, have struck a deal with Horst to continue building the roster.
Milwaukee has not gotten past the second round of the playoffs since its run to the title. Injuries have played a significant role in the team’s lack of postseason success; an important player — Khris Middleton in 2022, Antetokounmpo in 2023 and 2024 — has been on the sidelines for a majority of the series that they ended up losing in each of the last three playoff runs.
This season was the first time the Bucks have not had home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series since Horst’s first season (2017-18) in charge of Bucks personnel decisions. And the challenges in front of Horst may never be greater than what he will face this offseason as he tries to keep the Bucks in title contention.
Years of pushing for championships and using first-round draft capital to pull off two massive trades for point guards Holiday and Damian Lillard have left the Bucks’ coffers of draft assets nearly empty. The restrictions of the Stepien Rule mean the Bucks still have first-round picks in 2026, 2028 and 2030, but those picks are tied up in swaps with other teams and will likely leave those picks in the back half of the first round. The next first-round pick the Bucks maintain full control over is their 2031 pick.
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By trading Middleton to the Washington Wizards in February and taking back significantly less salary, the Bucks got under the NBA’s punitive second apron and kept their 2032 first-round pick from getting “frozen” by the new rules. With that move, the Bucks can move their 2031 or 2032 first-round picks, starting on the night of the 2025 NBA Draft.
The Bucks’ collection of second-round picks is also running low. In the 2025 NBA Draft, the Bucks currently own Detroit’s second-round pick (No. 47), which they acquired from the Wizards in the Middleton deal. They also have the rights to what could best be termed a “fake” second-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — the Utah Jazz’s second-round pick that will only convey to the Bucks if it lands between 56 and 60 — as well as both of their own second-round picks in 2031 and 2032.
Outside of the draft, Horst will need to address considerable questions throughout the roster this offseason. Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Kuzma and Tyler Smith are the only four players on the roster with guaranteed contracts for next season. While the Bucks also have AJ Green, Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston on non-guaranteed deals, three players — Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton and Kevin Porter Jr. — hold player options for next season. The Bucks have various rights to the rest of the players currently on the roster, including veteran center Brook Lopez, that will allow them to sign some of the players to larger contracts than the minimum, but all of those players will be able to act as unrestricted free agents this offseason.
With Antetokounmpo continuing to play at an MVP level, Horst will be expected to build a team that can contend for a championship next season. Even if the Bucks have dealt with unfortunate injury luck over the last four seasons, they have not been able to make a deep playoff run since winning an NBA title in 2021.
With his future in Milwaukee now secure, Horst will have to navigate a complicated offseason and the pressure to get the Bucks back in the title conversation will be significant.
(Photo of Jon Horst: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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