With their win last night, the Warriors became the first lower seed to advance to the second round of this year's postseason. Point guard Jarrett Jack, who has played a significant role in Golden State's success, will be a free agent when the team's season ends, but according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, the team was interested in locking him up long-term earlier this season.
Thompson reports that the Warriors approached Jack about a potential contract extension back in January, but that the 29-year-old shut down discussions. Jack preferred to focus on the season and wanted to experience free agency this summer, according to Thompson.
As I noted prior to the season, Jack was one of three Warriors veterans eligible for a contract extension this year, since it had been more than three years since he signed his four-year deal. Had Jack and the Warriors tried to work something out, the club would have been able to offer him a contract starting at 7.5% of this year's $5.4MM salary, for up to three new years. The maximum extension Jack could have signed would have added three years and $18.63MM to his existing deal, though it's unclear whether Golden State would have made that sort of commitment.
Now that he's heading for free agency, Jack appears to be at or near the top of the second tier of unrestricted point guards, along with players like Jose Calderon and Mo Williams, so there should be no shortage of interest.