MILWAUKEE — Andrew Bogut's first three years with the Milwaukee Bucks were productive enough to bring him a significant contract, a five-year extension worth $60 million in guaranteed money.

And the 7-foot center thinks the best is yet to come.

"I'm very excited to be with the Bucks another five years, on top of next season," Bogut said in an e-mail sent from the Melbourne airport last night (Thursday morning in Australia). "I love the city, people and culture, and that was a main reason I wanted to remain in Milwaukee."

Bogut was leaving his hometown of Melbourne to travel to Los Angeles, with his final destination being Milwaukee, where he is expected to sign his contract and appear at a news conference Friday.

The five-year extension is worth $60 million in guaranteed money, according to sources, with bonuses that could take the deal to $72.5 million. The extension does not affect the $6.9 million he will be paid for the final season of his rookie contract in 2008-'09, and it keeps the Australian with the Bucks through the 2013-'14 season.

David Bauman, Bogut's agent, and general manager John Hammond confirmed yesterday that the team had reached a deal with the 23-year-old, the top overall pick in the 2005 National Basketball Association draft.

"We're very pleased we were able to make a deal with the Bucks at this time," Bauman said. "He feels extremely valued by the franchises and feels he is an important piece going forward. The goal driving him is to win games and make the playoffs."

Bogut had expressed high hopes of making a long-term home with the Bucks, despite the team's struggles during the past two seasons. He was able to come to an extension agreement on the first day such deals could be signed, after the lifting of the league's moratorium period.

"He's an up-and-coming young center, difficult to find," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "Not a guy you want to get out on the open market. "

A number of other big names in the league have not been able to sign extensions in the past year, including Luol Deng and Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls and Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats. All are now restricted free agents this summer.

"It's easy to say if a guy doesn't have an extension, he'll be hungry and have a great year and all that," said Skiles . "But there are so many other things that go into it. It's nice to know that he's going to be here, he's going to be in camp and have that put behind him and be able to just focus on basketball. I'm really happy about it."

By signing Bogut now, the Bucks will not have to worry about him becoming a restricted free agent next season or an unrestricted free agent the year after that.

"The team gets a slight discount over what the market will bear," Bauman said. "It's not out of the realm that he could have gotten an Elton Brand deal next year. But Andrew gets security for a bit of a discount."

Brand left the Los Angeles Clippers for a five-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers worth a reported $82 million in one of the major free-agent moves thus far this summer.

Bogut's contract will have a "flat" salary structure, with $12 million guaranteed in each year of the deal, rather than starting lower and increasing each year. That should allow the Bucks some salary cap flexibility in the later years of the contract.

The contract also includes team-based and individual incentives, with money to be earned for all-star appearances and other accomplishments.

"It's a great deal for everybody. Sen. Kohl and John Hammond demonstrated a significant gesture to Andrew to get this done quickly," Bauman said, referring to team owner Herb Kohl. "There was a non-economic issue in the negotiations, but one that was very important to Andrew."

Bauman referred to Bogut's desire to join his Australian national team, which is currently preparing for the Beijing Olympics.

Bogut has not been taking part in the team's training while waiting for his contract status to be determined. It is expected he will join the Boomers soon after appearing in Milwaukee on Friday.

The Bucks already have made a number of major moves under Hammond, who replaced the fired Larry Harris as general manager in April. Hammond traded for veteran small forward Richard Jefferson, sending Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to New Jersey, and also drafted forward Joe Alexander with the eighth overall pick.

Bogut has proved to be a durable big man for the Bucks, playing all 82 games in his rookie season and starting 66 consecutive games in his second year before suffering a foot injury and missing the final 16 games.

He started and played in 78 games last season, averaging 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game and becoming a more important part of the Bucks' offense.