St. John's Prep's Pat Connaughton Signs Back With Milwaukee Bucks

DANVERS, MA — The pride of Arlington and St. John's Prep is returning to the place where he won an NBA championship a year ago.

Pat Connaughton, who won the 2021 NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks, reportedly agreed to a new three-year, $28.5 million contract with the Bucks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. He had been a free agent.

The deal includes a player option, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Jordan Gertler told ESPN.

The 2011 SJP graduate was a top draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in baseball but opted instead to pursue a basketball career after a successful collegiate run at Notre Dame. He tried out for the Boston Celtics prior to the 2015 draft but was instead drafted in the second round by the Brooklyn Nets.

Connaughton was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers before finding his way as a free agent to the Bucks.

The Celtics ended Milwaukee's bid for back-to-back titles with a 4-3 victory in the seven-game Eastern Conference semifinals this spring.

He is set to return to Danvers to host the Pat Connaughton Foundation Summer Skills Camp for boys and girls players in second through eighth grade starting Aug. 1.

Proceeds benefit the Pat Connaughton Foundation, providing young people with access to life skills through sports.

Camp registration can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)