While there are a number of different forms of contract extensions available to players under the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, the most common type of extension is for guys entering the final year of their rookie scale contract. Unlike veteran extensions, which only add up to three new years to a player's current contract, rookie contract extensions can add up to five new years.
Blake Griffin became the first of 2012's extension-eligible fourth-year players to ink a new deal, agreeing to a five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Clippers early in July. Serge Ibaka and the Thunder finalized a four-year, $49MM extension a few weeks later. Griffin's and Ibaka's deals mean that a pair of prime extension candidates are locked up, but there are still plenty of rookie-scale players eligible for extensions. If they don't sign long-term deals with their current teams by October 31st, they'll become free agents next summer.
We've examined a number of these fourth-year, extension-eligible players in our Extension Candidate series, but here's the complete list, sorted by team:
- 76ers: Jrue Holiday
- Bobcats: Gerald Henderson, B.J. Mullens
- Bucks: Brandon Jennings
- Bulls: Taj Gibson
- Cavaliers: Omri Casspi
- Grizzlies: Wayne Ellington
- Hawks: Jeff Teague
- Kings: Tyreke Evans, James Johnson
- Mavericks: Rodrigue Beaubois, Darren Collison
- Nuggets: Ty Lawson
- Pacers: Tyler Hansbrough
- Pistons: Austin Daye
- Raptors: DeMar DeRozan
- Rockets: Toney Douglas
- Thunder: James Harden, Eric Maynor
- Warriors: Stephen Curry