The Milwaukee Bucks took a huge step forward in Jason Kidd's first season as head coach when they made the playoffs as the number six seed. Despite being eliminated by the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Bucks core if young players has a promising future ahead of them, with rising stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker to go with newly signed Greg Monroe. One guy who might not be a star yet, but it just as promising as the others, is John Henson. The Bucks are reportedly involved in negotiations regarding a contract extension with him, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Stein also reported that the two sides hope to get a deal done soon. Henson was not a starter for the Bucks last season, and doesn't figure to be one this season either, but he is still a key piece and brings a lot to the table off the bench, especially regarding shot blocking. Henson finished sixth in the league last season with two blocks per game. He averaged just over 18 minutes per game.
Last season in the playoffs Henson's minutes went up to 25.5 minutes per game and he averaged 8.8 points and eight rebounds per against the Bulls. Henson is still only 24 years of age and has already shown he can be an above average NBA player with room to grow. His 18 PER (Player Efficiency Rating) has been well above average (15) in all three of his season's in the league.
Henson is similar to Tristan Thompson in that they both crash the offensive glass relentlessly. The difference is that Henson is elite defensively.
The contract being talked about for Thompson is in the $80 million range. While it would be surprising to see Henson get that kind of money he might deserve it because he is an elite shot blocker. Either way though, the two sides are reportedly close and it appears Henson will be playing in Milwaukee for the foreseeable future.
