Greg Monroe signed a three-year, $50 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, picking them over the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers.

“It was about what Milwaukee already brought to the table," said David Falk.

“The interest was definitely there (with the Knicks),” Monroe said. “I took an interest in everybody that was willing to meet with me. I don’t like to take anybody’s time for granted. I definitely didn’t take their time for granted. I made a decision based on the things that I was looking for and I wanted.

“At this point, I’d rather not (talk about it). It doesn’t matter anymore. Any questions anybody has, I could honestly not care less. I’m happy with where I’m at. I definitely feel like I made the right decision.”

The Milwaukee Bucks have exercised the third-year contract options on Tyler Ennis and Jabari Parker, and the fourth-year contract options on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams.

Antetokounmpo, 20, appeared in 81 games (71 starts) last year during his sophomore campaign and averaged 12.7 points with 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocks in 31.4 minutes per contest.

Carter-Williams, 24, appeared in 66 games (63 starts) split between Philadelphia and Milwaukee last season, averaging 14.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists (11^th in the NBA) and 1.7 steals (15^th in the NBA) in 32.6 minutes per game. 

Ennis, 21, split time between Phoenix and Milwaukee last year during his rookie season and averaged 3.7 points, 2.2 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 12.5 minutes over 33 contests. 

Parker, 20, competed in 25 games (all starts) as a rookie for the Bucks in 2014-15 before missing the remainder of the season due to a left ACL tear. In his 25 games played, Parker averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder led the NBA in efficiency differential during the preseason with a mark of +12.5.

During the 14-15 preseason, the Golden State Warriors had the league's best mark with +11.0, which became a first indicator of their jump as title contenders.

Here's the full rankings from the 15-16 preseason:

1. Thunder: 12.5
2. Celtics: 11.6
3. Grizzlies: 11.5
4. Wizards: 10.4
5. Hornets: 10.0
6. Pistons: 7.1
7. Raptors: 5.6
8. Pacers: 4.7
9. Knicks: 4.0
10. Suns: 3.9
11. Nuggets: 3.5
12. Kings: 3.3
13. Magic: 2.8
14. Blazers: 1.8
15. Jazz: 0.4
16. Heat: 0.0
17. Hawks: -0.7
18. Rockets: -0.7
19. Nets: -1.0
20. Warriors: -1.3
21. Spurs: -1.9
22. Lakers: -2.1
23. Bucks: -3.4
24. Bulls: -3.6
25. Pelicans: -3.6
26. Clippers: -4.2
27. Cavaliers: -6.5
28. 76ers: -8.6
29. Mavericks: -10.7
30. Wolves: -11.0

Giannis Antetokounmpo will play power forward to begin the season until Jabari Parker returns where he'll slide over to small forward.

But Antetokounmpo may see time at point guard, shooting guard and center as well this season for the Milwaukee Bucks.

"There are a lot of things being thrown at me right now, but it's good," Antetokounmpo said. "What's a better way to learn that spot than by playing it in the game.

"It's hard but I'm learning to play both spots. If something changes in the starting five, I can move to the 4; I can move to the 3. It's versatility and it's great to have that."

"He's 20 years old and he's going to play every position for us," Jason Kidd said. "...He never complains. He just goes out there and plays.

"I think he's showing he's confident in shooting the three. He's confident while he's on the floor and he's doing a lot of good things for us."

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on guard Jorge Gutierrez and forwards Marcus Landry and Josh Powell.

Gutierrez appeared in four preseason games and averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 assists. Landry averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in four contests, while Powell also saw action in four games during the preseason.

The Bucks roster now stands at 15 players.

Jeremy Schmidt (@Bucksketball) joins Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) to preview the Milwaukee Bucks season.  

Topics include: Can Giannis Antetokounmpo take the next step, how does Greg Monroe fit in, will Jabari Parker return to form, whether the defense can maintain its lofty standards from a year ago, and whether the Bucks can space the floor well enough for their individual talent to shine  Jeremy also gives his thoughts on the Bucks' management and ownership.

Subscribe to the Dunc'd On Basketball Podcast on iTunes or via the XML feed.

Click here for other team previews from the Dunc'd On Basketball Podcast.

A Western Conference team has had internal talks about signing Larry Sanders, according to a source.

Sanders and the Milwaukee Bucks agreed upon a buyout last season in which he took significantly less money to walk away from the game.

Sanders signed a four-year, $44 million extension in 2013 with the Bucks.

The Milwaukee Bucks have length at every position and how Jason Kidd organizes his rotations will be one of the NBA's most interesting storylines.

"It will be interesting with them on how they all come together and how Jason plans to use them all once Jabari is back," Stan Van Gundy said before the Bucks played the Detroit Pistons. "To get that combination of length and quickness defensively and keep enough shooting on the floor — it is not an easy balance."

The Bucks were one of the NBA's best defensive teams last season, but often struggled with their spacing on offense.

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on forward Jon Horford and guard Charlie Westbrook. 

Horford saw six minutes of action in the Bucks' preseason game at Chicago, while Westbrook posted four points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in nine minutes.

Both were signed by the Bucks as free agents on Sept. 18.

The Milwaukee Bucks are the first team to feature an alternate court design to complement their alternate uniform.

The Fear the Deer court shares the same design philosophy as the new uniforms, with the logos and color palette stripped down to keep the focus squarely on the team.

Zach Lowe of Grantland reports a new court costs about $115,000, possible slightly more with design fees.