The priority for most teams in the offseason involves building the roster for the season to come, but once that’s largely accomplished, attention turns to players eligible for rookie scale extensions. This year, the scope is somewhat limited, since only 13 teams possess anyone eligible for such an extension, and that includes the Pelicans, who already signed Anthony Davis to his extension. Still, the changing landscape of the league’s salary structure makes the stakes of the negotiations that take place between now and the October 31st deadline especially high.
Agents for many of the eligible players are talking tough in early negotiations, several league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, and team executives find this year’s market difficult to gauge, Lowe tweets. Any extensions signed by the Halloween deadline would kick in for 2016/17, when the salary cap is projected to leap to $89MM. That’s also the case for any new deals the teams and players would sign next summer if they decide against extensions and instead negotiate in next summer’s restricted free agency.
Last year’s class featured nine extensions worth a total of about $450MM, but it’s a fair bet this year’s extension market will produce an even greater haul, especially with Davis and Damian Lillard already signed. See the full list of players eligible for rookie scale extensions here:
- Harrison Barnes, Warriors
- Bradley Beal, Wizards
- Anthony Davis, Pelicans — signed a five-year max extension
- Andre Drummond, Pistons
- Festus Ezeli, Warriors
- Evan Fournier, Magic
- Maurice Harkless, Trail Blazers
- John Henson, Bucks — signed a four-year, $44MM-plus extension
- Perry Jones III, Celtics — waived, no longer eligible
- Terrence Jones, Rockets
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Hornets — signed a four-year, $52MM extension
- Jeremy Lamb, Hornets — signed a three-year, $21MM extension
- Meyers Leonard, Trail Blazers
- Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers — signed a five-year max extension
- Donatas Motiejunas, Rockets
- Andrew Nicholson, Magic
- Miles Plumlee, Bucks
- Terrence Ross, Raptors — signed a three-year, nearly $33MM extension
- Jared Sullinger, Celtics
- Jonas Valanciunas, Raptors — signed a four-year, $64MM extension
- Dion Waiters, Thunder
- Tony Wroten, Sixers
- Tyler Zeller, Celtics
Which player on this list, aside from Davis and Lillard, do you think is most deserving of an extension? Leave a comment to let us know.
Andre Drummond, jonas Valanciunas and Harrison Barnes are to me the most deserving of a rookie scale extension. To a degree I would say that Bradley Beal should deserve one as well but the one question/concern that I have about is health. I have yet to see him go a whole season healthy ot even relatively healthy.
Jonas and Drummond will get theirs because they are bigs. I need to see more from Barnes to give him the huge deal that many anticipate he’ll receive. It might be best for GS to wait until after the season to sign him, rather than giving him an extension now.
Terrence Jones is the most interesting one to me. I’m not sure he gets extended, but If I am someone like Detroit who will need an athletic four, I hope he hits the market. Jones could be a nice third/fourth option on the right team.
Several of these guys are worthy, but won’t be extended because their teams would rather keep their lower cap holds on the books at the beginning of next summer while they chase Durant.
It’s a very intelligent strategy that the Spurs executed this summer with Aldridge. Go under the cap to max out a star, then max out your own returning young FA (Leonard).
Because of that strategy, I expect Beal, both Rockets, and all three Celtics to remain ‘unextended’ and enter FA…because the Wizards, Rockets, and Celtics all represent logical FA destinations for Durant or another star. All three teams have young, good core pieces that a star would be attracted to.
I predict the Warriors will offer Barnes their one-time, five year extension, which must start at the max ($16.5Mish currently, I think), but then have each following year decline at 7.5% per year. If the first year did indeed start at 16.5M, this would be a 5/75M deal.