Jamal Murray, Lauri Markkanen among players eligible for contract extensions
Lauri Markkanen is among the players eligible for a contract extension.
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The offseason isn’t just for new contracts. It’s also a time for contract extensions.
Jayson Tatum has already signed the largest contract in NBA history, a five-year, $314 extension that will kick in next summer. He wasn’t the only starter the defending champion Boston Celtics secured beyond next season; they also inked Derrick White to a four-year, $118 extension.
More deals could be on the horizon. Extensions (and potential extensions) can be divided into two groups …
Rookie extensions
Players selected in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft still have one more year left on their contracts, as long as their third and fourth-year options were picked up. But they can sign contract extensions until Oct. 21, the day before the 2024-25 season begins. If they don’t sign an extension before the start of the season (see Tyrese Maxey as an example from last year), they’ll be restricted free agents in 2025.
Already signed/agreed to extensions: Cade Cunningham (1st overall pick), Scottie Barnes (4th) and Franz Wagner (8th)
All three guys signed for the max, a projected $225 million over five years (2025-26 through 2029-30).
All three still have some things to prove. Wagner was probably the second most important player on a good team but struggled with his 3-point shot (28%) last season. Barnes is the best two-way player of the three but has yet to prove that he’s a leading man. And Cunningham, the No. 1 pick three years ago, is easily the least accomplished of the three, especially when it comes to team success. The Pistons are 32-106 (.232) in games he’s played.
But those contracts are for only 25% of the salary cap in ’25-26, and with the cap expected to rise over the years, that percentage will likely drop throughout their contracts.
Still, it’s unclear if anyone else in the ’21 Draft class will get the max. There are 21 other players eligible for rookie extensions. Here’s the list:
Picks 1-10: Jalen Green (HOU – 2), Evan Mobley (CLE – 3), Jalen Suggs (ORL – 5), Josh Giddey (CHI – 6), Jonathan Kuminga (GSW – 7), Davion Mitchell (TOR – 9) and Ziaire Williams (MEM – 10).
Mobley is probably the best candidate remaining to get a max extension or something close. (It appears this is indeed the case, according to ESPN.–ed.) Suggs is probably the guy on this list whose team can have the most certainty about the kind of player he’ll be over the next few years. Green, Giddey and Kuminga are all super intriguing, but not necessarily proven starters after three years in the league.
Picks 11-20: Chris Duarte (CHI – 13), Moses Moody (GSW – 14), Corey Kispert (WAS – 15), Alperen Sengun (HOU – 16), Trey Murphy III (NOP – 17), Tre Mann (CHA – 18) and Jalen Johnson (ATL – 20).
Sengun, Murphy and Johnson are players that the Rockets, Pelicans and Hawks will want to keep around, for sure. If the Wizards can sign Kispert to a reasonable extension, he can be a piece that they retain for a rebuild or (eventually) trade to a contender for future assets.
Picks 21-30: Isaiah Jackson (IND – 22), Quentin Grimes (DAL – 25), Bones Hyland (LAC – 26), Cam Thomas (BKN – 27), Jaden Springer (BOS – 28), Day’Ron Sharpe (BKN – 29) and Santi Aldama (MEM – 30).
Jackson, Grimes, Sharpe and Aldama have proven they can handle rotation minutes, though Grimes might get lost in the shuffle in Dallas. Thomas is a flammable scorer who hasn’t yet shown that he can consistently help the Nets win games, but he’ll have the ball in his hands quite a bit this season.
Most career points per game, 2021 Draft class
| Player | GP | PPG | RASB/G | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cade Cunningham | 138 | 20.0 | 13.1 | 52.3% |
| Jalen Green | 225 | 19.8 | 8.5 | 54.2% |
| Franz Wagner | 231 | 17.8 | 9.3 | 57.5% |
| Scottie Barnes | 211 | 16.6 | 14.2 | 54.7% |
| Evan Mobley | 198 | 15.6 | 14.0 | 58.4% |
| Alperen Sengun | 210 | 14.9 | 13.5 | 58.2% |
| Cam Thomas | 190 | 14.0 | 5.0 | 54.9% |
| Josh Giddey | 210 | 13.9 | 14.2 | 52.4% |
| Jonathan Kuminga | 211 | 11.9 | 6.6 | 59.8% |
| Trey Murphy III | 198 | 11.7 | 6.2 | 62.1% |
RASB/G = Rebounds + assists + steals + blocks per game
TS% = PTS / (2 * (FGA + (0.44 * FTA)))
Minimum 100 games played
Veteran extensions
Already signed/agreed to: Tatum ($314M/5 years), Bam Adebayo ($166M/3), Jalen Brunson ($157M/4), Donovan Mitchell ($150M/3), White ($126M/4) and Jonathan Isaac ($67M/4).
Tatum’s and Adebayo’s deals were unsurprising. Both Brunson and White prioritized security and (potential) team-building over maximizing their money (if they waited a year). Mitchell’s deal gives the Cavs some time to see if they can get over the hump with their current core and a new coach, and Isaac got a big raise for the coming season, though the later years in his new deal are partially or non-guaranteed.
There are more than 50 other players who are eligible to sign contract extensions now or at some point before the start of the 2024-25 season. Here are the most intriguing of those players:
1. Lauri Markkanen (UTA) – The 27-year-old is at the top of the list when it comes to post-free-agency trade chatter. But on Aug. 6, he’ll be eligible for a contract extension that could, because the Jazz are well under the salary cap, include an increase in his ’24-25 salary from $18 million.
2. Brandon Ingram (NOP) – Like Markkanen, there’s a possibility that Ingram could be traded, extended, both or neither. With the addition of Dejounte Murray in New Orleans, the Pelicans seemingly have too many guys that need the ball, but Ingram is still just 26 years old (turning 27 in September).
3. Mikal Bridges and Julius Randle (NYK) – Given all the Draft picks that they traded for him, we know that Bridges is a part of the Knicks’ plans for the future. We don’t know the same about Randle. Both guys have two years left on their current contracts, and both are eligible (later this offseason) to sign extensions that add three more years (through 2028-29).
4. Jamal Murray (DEN) – Like Brunson, Murray could get a bigger contract if he waited a year and became a free agent next July. But indications are that he and the Nuggets will ink a four-year extension this summer.
Among the other players eligible for extensions this offseason are Stephen Curry (two years left on his current contract), Kevin Durant (two), Joel Embiid (three), De’Aaron Fox (two), Rudy Gobert (two) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (two). Because of their age, Curry and Durant can have only one year added to their current deals.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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