So far this offseason, we’ve been keeping close tabs on the way teams are acquiring new players, tracking free agent signings, draft pick signings, draft-and-stash deals, two-way contracts, trades, and waiver claims. However, there’s one more form of transaction worth monitoring: contract extensions.
Extensions, of course, don’t involve adding a new player to the roster. By extending a contract, a team ensures that a current player will remain locked up for multiple years to come. Although a contract extension may not change the club’s outlook on the court, it can have a major impact on that team’s salary cap situation for the next several summers.
Rookie scale extensions are the most common form of contract extension, and Devin Booker became the first member of the 2015 draft class to sign one back in July. However, he’s unlikely to be the last. There are many other players eligible for new deals up until the October 15 deadline, and it’s common for about four to eight players entering the final year of their respective rookie contracts to sign extensions.
[RELATED: Players eligible for rookie-scale extensions]
While they’ve historically been less common than rookie-scale extensions, veteran extensions are happening a little more frequently these days, with the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement expanding the rules for eligibility and creating some additional incentives for star players to sign new deals before they reach free agency. Seven players signed veteran extensions during the 2017/18 league year. Kevin Love was the first veteran to sign one this offseason.
Listed below are the players who have finalized contract extensions so far in the 2018/19 league year. This list, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site (or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu) will be kept up to date throughout the offseason, and even throughout the ’18/19 regular season if any veteran players ink an extension at that point.
Veteran extensions:
- Kevin Love (Cavaliers): Four years, $120,402,172 (story). Starts in 2019/20.
- Eric Bledsoe (Bucks): Four years, $70MM (story). Partial guarantee ($3.9MM) in fourth year. Starts in 2019/20.
- Spencer Dinwiddie (Nets): Three years, $34,360,473 (story). Third-year player option. Starts in 2019/20.
Rookie scale extensions:
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves): Five years, 25% maximum salary (story). Projected value of $158,050,000. Can be worth 30% of the cap (projected value of $189,660,000) if Towns earns All-NBA honors or wins MVP or DPOY in 2018/19. Starts in 2019/20.
- Devin Booker (Suns): Five years, 25% maximum salary (story). Projected value of $158,050,000. Can be worth up to 30% (projected value of $189,660,000) if Booker earns First Team All-NBA honors in 2018/19. Starts in 2019/20.
- Myles Turner (Pacers): Four years, $72MM (story). Includes $8MM in unlikely incentives. Starts in 2019/20.
- Larry Nance Jr. (Cavaliers): Four years, $44.8MM (story). Starts in 2019/20.
- Justise Winslow (Heat): Three years, $39MM (story). Third-year team option. Starts in 2019/20.