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Players Eligible For In-Season Veteran Extensions In 2021/22

October 22nd 2021 at 8:21am CST by Luke Adams

As we explain in our glossary entry on veteran contract extensions, rookie scale extensions have historically been the most common form of contract extension in the NBA. However, the league’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement loosened the rules on eligibility for veteran extensions and made them more financially advantageous, especially for players who don’t expect mega-deals.

As a result, we’ve seen a substantial bump in veteran contract extensions in recent seasons. Since the 2021/22 league year began, 14 players have signed them.

[RELATED: 2021/22 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]

For certain extension-eligible players, such as Zach LaVine, it still makes sense to wait until free agency to sign a new contract — the biggest raise LaVine can receive on an extension would be far less than the maximum contract he’d be eligible to earn on the open market.

The maximum starting salary a player like LaVine can receive in a veteran extension is up to 120% of his current salary. A player on a more modest contract can receive a maximum starting salary worth up to 120% of the NBA’s estimated average salary.

For this season, 120% of the estimated average salary would work out to a $12.4MM salary in the first year of a contract extension. A player who signs an extension that fits that bill could get up to four years and $55.56MM. Mitchell Robinson and Jalen Brunson are among the players eligible for that sort of deal.

Now that the regular season is underway, the number of veterans eligible for contract extensions has shrunk, since players with more than one year left on their contracts aren’t permitted to sign an in-season extension. But there are still a number of veterans in the final year of their respective contracts who remain eligible for extensions right up until the last day of the current league year.

Listed below are the players who meet the criteria for a veteran extension. Players who were recently traded can be extended, but they have to wait for a certain amount of time after the trade to sign a contract longer than three total years (including the current season) with a first-year raise exceeding 5%. If a player below is noted as having “limited” eligibility until a certain date, that’s why.

Typically, that “limited” extension eligibility lifts after six months, but due to the shortened 2021 offseason, that timeline has been adjusted slightly for certain players. Once a player regains his full extension eligibility, he becomes eligible to sign an extension of up to five total years (including the current season) with a 20% first-year raise.

Additionally, extension-eligible players with a player or team option for 2022/23 would have to eliminate that option year as part of an extension agreement in order to meet the necessary criteria.

With the help of information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks, here’s the full list of veterans currently eligible for contract extensions:

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

  • None

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • None

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

  • None

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

  • None

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

  • None

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

  • None

Milwaukee Bucks

  • None

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

  • None

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

  • None

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Utah Jazz

Washington Wizards

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