Former NBA Star Reveals 'Outside Influences' Caused Him to Reject Massive Contract Offer

But he isn't totally unhappy with his choice.

Nov 10, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) and Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings (7) go for the ball during the third quarter at the United Center. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons 102-91. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images

After being selected with the No. 10 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, point guard Brandon Jennings quickly emerged as an All-Rookie First Teamer and looked like a rising superstar.

It never quite worked out that way. The Bucks stalled out after All-NBA center Andrew Bogut suffered several gruesome injuries, the undersized Jennings never quite took the leap into becoming a more consistent scorer or distributor, and after a botched contract extension negotiation, the 6-foot guard was flipped from the Bucks to the Detroit Pistons for small forward Khris Middleton, point guard Brandon Knight, and center Viacheslav Kravtsov after agreeing to a three-year, $25 million sign-and-trade deal.

Middleton quickly developed into a three-time All-Star and one of All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo's most pivotal teammates en route to the "Greek Freak" claiming his first NBA championship. Jennings had some solid years in Detroit, but failed to blossom into an All-Star. He was eventually felled by injuries and lost his starting gig.

To hear Jennings tell it, the reason he got dealt is a bit complicated. He appeared recently on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's "All The Smoke" podcast to unpack his failed tenure.

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"Man you know what's crazy about me getting traded that year is I should've signed a deal [an extension offer] with Milwaukee that summer," Jennings said. "I didn't decline it, I didn't know... So they [my representatives were] like, 'Ah, we should go for the max,' and they offered me 40 for four [a four-year, $40 million extension] and they turned it down... Well, we talked about it, but I felt like it was more like, outside forces, like my mother. People felt like I was a max. But then at that time, you gotta think — nobody got the max. Everybody was getting 40... So that's why I got traded."

"And then I got wind of it from somebody that wasn't even in my circle," Jennings said. "It was just a lot of stuff."

Jennings tore his Achilles in 2015. His career was never the same. Over the course of his nine-year NBA career, Jennings made a grand total of $40.1 million in on-court earnings. He actually began his pro career with Italian club Lottomatica Roma, rather than playing in college for a one-and-done season after high school. He also suited up for CBA club the Shanxi Brave Dragons and Russian team Zenit Saint Petersburg.

"But for me with the Achilles, that's when I lost my passion for the game, because that's when I started finding out a lot about other things outside of basketball that I needed to get in control of. I'm sure we've all been there," Jennings said. "We're making all this money, we don't really know what's going on. So you know, laying up in the bed, just hearing how people feel. Seeing Reggie Jackson get $80 million from Detroit, you just get down... I feel like that's why I didn't get the $80 million and I didn't become an All-Star, because I needed to get things in control [in] my life first... That's why I'm still here."

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