The Milwaukee Bucks selected forward Jabari Parker second overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, and the Duke product seemed well on his way to stardom before a torn left ACL cut his rookie season short after just 25 games. Parker seemed to recover nicely after the tear, but suffered the exact same injury in February 2017 and just hasn’t been the same since.
In that span, teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo has risen to superstardom, inevitably forcing Parker to take a backseat once he returned to the court. The chances of Parker returning to Milwaukee after failing to agree on an extension last summer have looked grim, as there was reportedly a ‘slim-to-none’ chance that he would return to the team in restricted free agency, with the Bucks also reportedly trying to trade him mid-season. However, the aforementioned Antetokounmpo seems confident his teammate will be returning to the Bucks on a new deal next season, according to Gery Woelfel of Racine Journal Times:
Giannis Antetokounmpo on soon to be restricted free agent Jabari Parker: “He ain’t going anywhere. He’s going to be here.”
— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) April 29, 2018
Once Parker returned to action after his second ACL injury, he was used as a spark plug off the Milwaukee bench, finishing with averages 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 31 games – a far cry from his 2016-’17 averages of 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists he achieved as a starter before the injury.
Parker may never be the star he was touted to become after being drafted in 2014, but he is still just 23 with plenty of room to grow and a skill set that any NBA team would crave. Regardless if the Milwaukee Bucks are the organization writing his checks, Jabari Parker will assuredly be getting a hefty payday from an NBA team once the free agency period begins.
