After architecting the franchise’s first NBA championship in 50 years, Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst has agreed to a long-term contract extension, he told ESPN on Friday.
Horst had one year left on his contract, and his new deal — finalized Friday morning with his agent, Brian Elfus, and team officials — takes Horst through the next several years, sources told ESPN.
A formal announcement is expected later Friday.
Horst’s deal punctuates the signing of several key organizational members in the past year, including NBA and Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, guard Jrue Holiday and coach Mike Budenholzer. Horst is starting his fifth season as general manager, a run flush with two No. 1 seeds in the Eastern Conference and the 2020-21 title.
“With [ownership] Marc Lasry, Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan, Mike Fascitelli, what those guys have done for me and my family and my career, giving me this opportunity and trusting in me, I’ll forever be grateful to them and loyal to them,” Horst told ESPN on The Woj Pod. “… I’m excited to continue to work for them, and with Bud, with Giannis, with [team president] Peter Feigin, the greatest partners in this business, and all our players.”
The NBA’s Executive of the Year in 2019, Horst has delivered key trades, including Holiday, and free-agent acquisitions, including Brook Lopez, as well as the hiring of Budenholzer, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year.
Horst, 38, was the NBA’s youngest general manager when he was promoted to replace John Hammond in 2017. Horst worked his way up through the Detroit and Milwaukee organizations before becoming the Bucks’ GM.