The Bucks have agreed to a multi-year contract extension with GM Jon Horst, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
This will end any speculation that the Bucks’ ownership group was contemplating a change at the top tier of its front office chain. Horst has been the Bucks’ GM since 2017. During that span, the Bucks have made the playoffs in all eight seasons and have a .647 winning percentage, second-best in the league.
The Bucks won the 2021 championship but haven’t gone deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs since that run. They lost in the conference semifinals in 2022 and got knocked out in the first round the past two seasons. They currently trail Indiana 2-0 in their opening-round series.
There has been speculation that Suns owner Mat Ishbia might pursue Horst if he was made available. Milwaukee denied Detroit permission to interview for their top executive job last summer before the Pistons chose Trajan Langdon.
There have also been whispers that Giannis Antetokounmpo might want out of Milwaukee if the Bucks flame out in the postseason again. Horst made the blockbuster deal for Damian Lillard in 2023 after Antetokounmpo publicly wondered whether they had a championship-level roster.
This winter, the 42-year-old Horst commented on his feelings about keeping Milwaukee among the top contenders for the title.
“It’s still the awesome responsibility to try to take this franchise and maximize the window that we have now as best we can,” Horst said. “What we think gives us the best chance to win, and figure out how to continue winning going forward. There’s a very narrow set of opportunities that we felt that we could do that, and this was one of them.”