Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond has signed a three-year contract extension, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

In the two seasons prior to Hammond's arrival, the Bucks had won 28 and 26 games with a payroll brushing up against the luxury tax threshold. The Bucks made the playoffs in Hammond's second season (2009-10), when he was voted the NBA's executive of the year before a rash of injuries decimated the team's playoff hopes two seasons ago.

Bucks owner Herb Kohl began contract talks with Hammond earlier this season, with Hammond's original five-year deal set to expire this summer. In the past few years, Hammond was a target of several teams searching for GM's, including the Portland Trail Blazers.





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Hammond, and his assistant GM, Jeff Weltman, are responsible for the drafting of elite guard Brandon Jennings and the rapidly developing forward, Larry Sanders.

Hammond parted ways with coach Scott Skiles earlier this month, promoting assistant coach Jim Boylan into the interim job for the remainder of the season.

The Bucks are 22-18 and hold the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. The Bucks are three games behind Indiana in the NBA's Central Division standings.

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