JULY 6: Morant’s extension is now official, the Grizzlies announced today in a press release.
JUNE 30: The Grizzlies and star guard Ja Morant are in agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension worth the maximum salary, agent Jim Tanner tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The deal will go into effect when Morant’s rookie contract expires in 2023.
Morant’s extension will include Rose Rule language allowing him to earn a starting salary worth 30% of the 2023/24 cap instead of 25% if he makes an All-NBA team again next season.
Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection of $133MM for the ’23/24 season, Morant’s deal would be worth $231.42MM if he meets the Rose Rule criteria next season, or $192.85MM if he doesn’t.
It’s the biggest contract in Grizzlies history, according to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), topping the $153MM deal Mike Conley signed in 2016.
Morant, who will turn 23 in August, has improved in each of his three NBA seasons, earning his first All-Star and All-NBA nods in 2021/22 and winning the league’s Most Improved Player award.
The former second overall pick averaged a career-high 27.4 PPG to go along with 6.7 APG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.2 SPG in 57 games (33.1 MPG). He also put up career-best shooting numbers of 49.3% from the floor and 34.4% on threes.
Morant is the first member of the 2019 draft class to reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension, and his new deal is one of several maximum-salary contract extensions agreed upon as the new NBA league year begins. Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Devin Booker have reportedly agreed to super-max veteran extensions tonight as well.
The Rose Rule criteria require a player to earn an All-NBA spot in the season before his rookie scale extension goes into effect to qualify for the 30% max, which is why Morant will have to make it again next year despite claiming a spot on the Second Team this spring.
Easiest decision of all time
Of all time. Your head needs examination
Guess mine needs examining too. Don’t think decisions come any easier than this one.
Giving Jokic the supermax was probably an even easier decision for the Nugs
Well deserved like the Jokic max signing. But he’s got to stay healthy to truly live up to this contract
Better hope those knees holdup. Very risky considering his style of play.
Yeah the Rose rule talk made me flinch a little, instinctively.
He’s going to blow out at least one of his acls. Without his hops…is he good enough? See: Blake Griffin
Broke the code
Overrated player. Ja is a possession hog who is a weak 3pt shooter. He’s another Derrick Rose. The Grizzlies will never win a title with him.
The Pacers have replaced the Grizzlies on my smart team darkhorse list. Another dumb move was keeping Tyus Jones over Melton. I’m not surprised seeing that Jenkins kept playing Jones over Melton for much of the playoffs. They’re almost as dumb as the Celtics.