Lauri Markkanen is among the players eligible for a contract extension.
The offseason isn’t just about new contracts. It’s also a time for contract extensions.
Jayson Tatum has already signed the longest contract in NBA history, a five-year, $314 extension that begins next summer. He wasn’t the only starter secured by the champion Boston Celtics after the following season. They also inked Derrick White to a four-year, $118 extension.
More deals could be on the horizon. Extensions (and potential extensions) can be divided into two groups…
Rookie Extensions
Players selected in the first round of the 2021 Draft have one year left on their contracts once their third- and fourth-year options have been picked up. But they can sign contract extensions until October 21, the day before the start of the 2024-25 season. If they don’t sign an extension before the season starts (see Tyrese Maxey as an example from last year), they will be restricted free agents in 2025.
Already signed/agreed extensions: Cade Cunningham (1st overall pick), Scottie Barnes (4th) and Franz Wagner (8th)
All three guys signed for the max, a projected $225 million over five years (2025-26 through 2029-30).
All three still have things to prove. Wagner was perhaps the second most important player on a good team, but he struggled on 3-point shooting (28%) last season. Barnes is the best two-way player of the three, but he has yet to prove he’s a top pick. And Cunningham, the No. 1 pick three years ago, is easily the least successful of the three, especially when it comes to team success. The Pistons are 32-106 (.232) in the games he has played.
But those contracts are only for 25% of the salary cap in ’25-26, and with the cap expected to rise over the years, that percentage will likely decrease over the course of their contracts.
However, it’s unclear whether anyone else in the ’21 Draft class will get the max. There are 21 other players eligible for youth extensions. Here is the list:
Options 1-10: Jalen Green (HOU – 2), Evan Mobley (CLE – 3), Jalen Suggs (ENT – 5), Josh Guiday (CHI – 6), Jonathan Cuminga (GSW – 7), Davion Mitchell (TOR – 9) and Zaire Williams (MEM – 10).
Mobley is probably the best candidate left to get a max extension or something close to it. While Suggs is probably the guy on this list whose team can have the most certainty about what kind of player he will be in the coming years. Green, Guiday and Cuminga are all super intriguing, but not necessarily proven starters after three years in the league.
Options 11-20: Chris Duarte (CHI – 13), Moses Moody (GSW – 14), Corey Kispert (Was – 15), Alperen Sengun (HOU – 16), Trey Murphy III (NOP – 17), Tre Mann (CHA – 18) and Jaylen Johnson (ATL – 20).
Shengun, Murphy and Johnson are players the Rockets, Pelicans and Hawks will want to keep, for sure. If the Wizards can sign Kispert to a reasonable extension, he could be a piece to keep for a rebuild or (eventually) trade to a prospect for future assets.
Options 21-30: Isaiah Jackson (IND – 22), Quentin Grimes (DAL – 25), Bones Hyland (LAC – 26), Cam Thomas (BKN – 27), Jaden Springer (BOS – 28), Day Ron Sharp (BKN – 29) and Sandy Aldama (MEM – 30).
Jackson, Grimes, Sharpe and Aldama have proven they can handle rotation minutes, though Grimes might get lost in the shuffle in Dallas. Thomas is a combustible scorer who has yet to show that he can consistently help the Nets win games, but he will have the ball in his hands quite a bit this season.
Most career points per game, 2021 Draft class
Player | GP | PPG | RASB/G | TS% |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cade Cunningham | 138 | 20.0 | 13.1 | 52.3% |
Jalen Green | 225 | 19.8 | 8.5 | 54.2% |
Franz Wagner | 231 | 17.8 | 9.3 | 57.5% |
Scotty Barnes | 211 | 16.6 | 14.2 | 54.7% |
Evan Mobley | 198 | 15.6 | 14.0 | 58.4% |
Alperen Sengun | 210 | 14.9 | 13.5 | 58.2% |
Cam Thomas | 190 | 14.0 | 5.0 | 54.9% |
Josh Guiday | 210 | 13.9 | 14.2 | 52.4% |
Jonathan Cuminga | 211 | 11.9 | 6.6 | 59.8% |
Trey Murphy III | 198 | 11.7 | 6.2 | 62.1% |
RASB/G = Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks per game
TS% = PTS / (2 * (FGA + (0.44 * FTA)))
At least 100 games played
Veteran extensions
Already signed/agreed with: Tatum ($314M/5 years), Bam Adebayo ($166M/3), Jalen Brunson ($157M/4), Donovan Mitchell ($150M/3), White ($126M /4) and Jonathan Isaac ($67 million/ 4).
The Tatum and Adebayo deals were no surprise. Both Brunson and White prioritized safety and (potential) team building over maximizing their money (if they waited a year). Mitchell’s deal gives the Cavs some time to see if they can get over the hump with their current core and a new coach, and Isaac got a big raise for next season, though the next few years on his new deal are partially or not guaranteed. .
There are more than 50 other players eligible to sign contract extensions now or sometime before the start of the 2024-25 season. Here are the most interesting of these players:
1. Lauri Markkanen (UTA) – The 27-year-old tops the list in terms of trade talk after free agency. But on Aug. 6, he’ll be eligible for a contract extension that could, because the Jazz are well under the salary cap, include an increase in his ’24-25 salary from $18 million.
2. Brandon Ingram (NOP) – Like Markkanen, there’s a chance Ingram could be traded, extended, both or neither. With the addition of Dejounte Murray in New Orleans, the Pelicans seemingly have tons of guys who need the ball, but Ingram is still only 26 (turns 27 in September).
3. Mikal Bridges and Julius Randle (NYK) – Given all the draft picks they traded for him, we know Bridges is part of the Knicks’ plans for the future. We don’t know the same about Randle. Both guys have two years left on their current contracts, and both are eligible (later this season) to sign extensions that add another three years (through 2028-29).
4. Jamal Murray (DEN) – Like Brunson, Murray could get a longer contract if he waited a year and became a free agent next July. However, there are indications that he and the Nuggets will sign a four-year extension this summer.
Among the other players eligible for extensions this offseason are Stephen Curry (two years left on his current contract), Kevin Durant (two), Joel Embiid (three), De Aaron Fox (two), Rudy Gobert (two) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (two). Due to their ages, Curry and Durant can only add one year to their current deals.
* * *
John Schuhmann is a senior statistician for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him to X.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.