Andre Drummond and Harrison Barnes are reportedly the players most likely to receive extensions among those who’ve yet to sign on the list of rookie scale extension-eligible players. That stands to reason, since they, along with Bradley Beal, would appear to be the most valuable among that group. Rookie scale extensions are typically the purview of elite or nearly elite players. Still, as we’ve seen with Milwaukee’s extension for John Henson and Golden State’s willingness to consider an extension for Festus Ezeli, sometimes teams tie up young players at the back of their rotations, too.
Henson will receive an average annual value of at least $11MM when the extension kicks in for 2016/17, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports, but eight players since 2010 have signed rookie scale extensions for less than $10MM in average annual value. Perhaps most notable among them is Mike Conley‘s discounted five-year, $41MM deal that he signed in 2010. It’s finally up after this season, and Conley will surely end up with a salary more commensurate with his skill. The same will probably be true for DeMar DeRozan should he opt out. Even though he comes closest among the eight to $10MM a year on his deal, it’s still reasonable to suspect he’d get much more on the open market.
Here’s a look at each of the players who’ve signed rookie scale extensions for less than $10MM a year since 2010, ranked in descending order of average annual value. Note that the teams with which they signed the extensions are in parentheses, and not necessarily their current teams.
- DeMar DeRozan (Raptors, 2012): Four years, $39.7MM
- Taj Gibson (Bulls, 2012): Four years, $33MM
- Mike Conley, (Grizzlies, 2010) Five years, $41MM
- Markieff Morris (Suns, 2014): Four years, $32MM
- Marcus Morris (Suns, 2014): Four years, $20MM
- Quincy Pondexter (Grizzlies, 2013): Four years, $14MM
- Kosta Koufos (Nuggets, 2011) Three years, $9MM
- Jared Dudley, (Suns, 2010) Five years, $21.375MM
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and Patricia Bender’s database were used in the creation of this post.