While most players on expiring deals downplay the extent to which they’re thinking about their contract situation, that’s not the case for Willie Cauley-Stein. The fourth-year Kings big man told James Ham of NBC Sports California that he’s entering his contract year “ready to get paid.”
“I’m ready for it,” Cauley-Stein said. “I’ve seen everybody else – all my peers. Alright, I’m ready for that. What do I got to do to do that? That’s what they’re doing? Alright, I’m going to go ahead and do this now. I was doing it this way, obviously it wasn’t working, so now let’s do it this way.”
Because he’s in the fourth year of his rookie scale contract, Cauley-Stein is eligible to sign a contract extension up until October 15. However, Ham writes that the Kings are unlikely to do a long-term deal for the former sixth overall pick at this point. He’s more likely to reach restricted free agency next summer, so his play this season could go a long way toward determining what his market looks like in 2019.
[RELATED: Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2018]
In 73 games (58 starts) last season, Cauley-Stein established new career highs in PPG (12.8), RPG (7.0), APG (2.4), and several other categories. However, his production was somewhat inconsistent on a night-to-night basis, which is something he’ll be looking to improve upon heading into 2018/19.
“Consistency, that’s the word of the decade for me,” Cauley-Stein told Ham. “Consistency. That’s what’s going to get you paid. So I’m going to say it until it happens. That’s how it works these days. Just keep on talking about it, eventually it’s just going to happen.”
While Cauley-Stein looks like the frontrunner to open the season as Sacramento’s starting center, the 25-year-old will face plenty of competition for playing time. Over the offseason, the Kings added Marvin Bagley III and Nemanja Bjelica to a frontcourt that already includes Zach Randolph, Skal Labissiere, and Kosta Koufos. The team also envisions a regular role for Harry Giles, who missed his entire rookie year while recovering from ACL injuries.
Giles and Bagley are the 4 and 5 for Sacramento. Cauley-Stein probably gets signed by the Lakers next summer.
Bagley isn’t a Center. Giles isn’t a Center. Try again
Giles will be the center, he’s 6’11 and will be a beast on defense. Bagley will be the 4.
Or bagley 3 giles 4 and stein 5. Not sure how it would work. But the kings arent competing anyway for a while.
Bagley at the 3 is funny
Sounds like Boogie 2.0.
Not really, Boogie was an all star, he’s not even in the top 10 at his position. And it’s a position that is starting to lose some of its need.
13-7-4 are numbers for a second/third tier big at best – one of his “peers” he claims – Anthony Davis almost doubles his output in both ppg and rebounds, so be fore he cries “Show me the money”, produce a bit more
Say Hi to Nerlens when you see him at lunch.
lol who’s going to pay him? I guess the Wizards have been known to overpay for big men
don’t work too hard, kid. just average 7 and 4 and someone will give you 70mil+
Let’s not go down the Nerlens train, WCS is better than that.
Even if he’s more consistent this year, he still may not put up better numbers with the increase in front court players that will get minutes in Sactown this year. I could see him being a fallback option for a team that doesn’t hit it big in FA next year (ie. Knicks) at 4yrs/$48M.
There’s no max, or even close to max for WCS though.
Willie is an idiot.
Sounds like IT backing up a Brinks truck again.
I like willie but he needs to produce before he starts talking about money. Im all about athletes getting paid but he has not proven anything yet. Lets wait and see. Winning and him being a catalyst in the process is what will matter.
He should be saying I’m lucky to be getting paid
Maybe he just needs a different life coach. He’s going to get this headline thrown back at him on the court!
There’s more in the link
This comment has to be the most dumb Lavar Ball-ish comment of the offseason.
“Consistency. That’s what’s going to get you paid. So I’m going to say it until it happens. That’s how it works these days. Just keep on talking about it, eventually it’s just going to happen.”
I’m not sure talking about something a lot makes you more consistent on the court. Pretty sure it’s practice that does that. This guy seems foolish.
Restricted free agency will be a rude awakening for him