NBA contract extension deadline: What you need to know

The day before the start of the regular season is when teams must trim their rosters down to 15 players.

More importantly, however, is that Oct. 23 is the last day many players can sign a contract extension. Specifically, it’s the deadline for players on the final year of a first-round rookie scale contract as well as extension-eligible veterans with two years left on their deal.

To date, seven first-round picks from the 2020 draft have signed rookie extensions: Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, LaMelo Ball, Desmond Bane, Isaiah Stewart, Devin Vassell and Payton Pritchard. An additional 20 players are still eligible to extend. In the past two offseasons, 22 players have signed rookie extensions, including 12 in the month of October.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, a player is allowed to sign a rookie extension for five seasons even if it is not for the maximum salary allowed. Vassell and Bane both signed five-year extensions that would not have been allowed under the prior CBA.

Here are the key players on rookie deals — along with a handful of veterans also facing an Oct. 23 extension deadline — and why their deals will or will not get done.

Breaking down the major rookie extension candidates

Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

In a perfect world, Maxey should have been extended once the clock struck midnight on July 1.

The 76ers guard averaged a career high 20.3 points last season and became the second-youngest player to average 20 points in a season in 76ers history, trailing only Allen Iverson.

Additionally Maxey, shot 43.4% on 3-pointers, the fifth-best among qualified players and best among players to average at least 20 points.

However, as Ramona Shelburne reported in late June, the 76ers are not planning to extend Maxey to preserve cap flexibility next offseason.

“I’m just gonna go ahead and focus on the season right now, focusing on how we can get better, how I can be better, how at the end of the day, like I said, it’s a competition and we have one goal in mind,” Maxey told the media during training camp. “And I love Philly. I know this is a business, I know it’s how it goes and I’m a happy person.”

Why there might be no extension: As Maxey said, the NBA is a business, and unfortunately he is paying the price right now as a result. Because Maxey was selected 21st in the 2020 draft, he has a $13 million cap hold next offseason. If he were extended now to a contract that starts at $34 million, Philadelphia would lose $21 million in cap flexibility. Including Maxey’s cap hold, the 76ers project to have between $40 to $65 million in cap space. In his tenure in Houston and now Philadelphia, Daryl Morey has signed only one former first-round pick to a rookie extension: James Harden in 2012 (after acquiring him in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder).

Why a deal might get done: If Harden is traded prior to October 23. This is unlikely, but if Harden is traded and the return package includes players who can help now and are under contract past this season, the 76ers would lose cap space anyway, which would incentivize them to get a deal done with Maxey as well.

The new contract: Maxey will be the top free agent point guard next summer and is considered one of the top 25 players under the age of 25. He should receive All-Star consideration this season with or without Harden on the roster. If he continues to play at an All-Star level, Maxey should be in line to receive a five-year, $206 million contract with Philadelphia, comparable to the extensions Haliburton, Ball and Edwards signed. If there is a holdup in negotiations, nine teams project to have max cap space to sign him to a four-year $153 million offer sheet next summer.

Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves

McDaniels was one of the league’s elite defenders last season, ranking in the top 10 in field goal percentage allowed as the closest defender among players to defend 600 shots per Second Spectrum tracking. He also held opponents to 52.9% shooting at the rim, which ranked in the top 10 among players to defend 200 shots. McDaniels had the third-most matchups defending 2023 All-Stars last season, trailing only Mikal Bridges and O.G. Anunoby. Bridges was named All-NBA Defensive first team in 2022 and Anunoby second team in 2023.

Why there might be no extension: Finances. Along with the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, the Timberwolves are one of three teams to have three players on max contracts. Minnesota has $130 million committed to Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards in 2024-25. A McDaniels extension would all but assure that Minnesota would be in the luxury tax for only the fifth time since 2002-03. Minnesota is also nearing the $190 million second apron, further restricting how the roster is built if McDaniels signs a new deal and starting point guard Mike Conley returns. San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell recently signed a five-year $135 million extension (there is an additional $11 million in unlikely bonuses). Vassell and McDaniels play a different position, but could McDaniels get more than Vassell by waiting until restricted free agency?

Why a deal might get done: Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has a strong track record of extending players before they hit free agency. Including his time in Denver, Connelly has signed five players (Edwards, Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Kenneth Faried) to rookie extensions and an additional eight players (including Towns and Nikola Jokic) to veteran extensions.

“In my experience in Denver and here, we like to reward people who earned it,” Connelly told The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski on his podcast. “Jaden is a huge part of what we’re doing now. He’s going to get better and better and better.”

The new contract: The comp Minnesota should look at is the four-year, $90 million extension that Bridges signed with Phoenix in 2021 — which would be equal to a four-year, $103 million deal or a five-year, $134 million deal under a projected $142 million salary cap in 2024-25.

Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks

Quickley’s sample size as both a starter and sixth man and strong play defensively should be enough to warrant consideration for a new contract.

In 21 games as a starter, Quickley averaged 22.6 points and 5.1 assists, and shot 47% from the field and 40% on 3-pointers. He had nine 25-point games last season, including four of more than 35 points. In the role of sixth man, Quickley had the best plus-minus (plus-254) among all reserves.

He ranked in the top 10 in field goal percentage allowed as the closest defender among players to defend at least 500 shots per Second Spectrum.

Why a deal might get done: The Knicks front office has shown a propensity to locking up their own players before they hit free agency. In a period of three years, New York has extended Julius Randle (four years, $106.5 million), RJ Barrett (four years, $107 million) and Josh Hart (four years, $81 million). Not including the $19 million Evan Fournier team option, New York has $133 million in committed salary in 2024-25. Quickley’s $12.5 million cap hold has value, but only if New York projects to have room like Philadelphia. Extending Quickley prior to Oct. 23 also gives New York trade options next offseason. If they take a conservative approach, not only could the cost of Quickley’s next contract increase but trading him as a free agent becomes more difficult (he would have to agree on a sign-and-trade).

Why there might be no extension: Two factors. Extending Quickley now would put a poison pill restriction in his contract through June 30. A new deal does not take the guard out of any possible trades, it does restrict what the Knicks could take back. The last player who signed a rookie extension and then was traded in the same season was Devin Harris in 2008. The second is whether New York is comfortable paying starter money to Quickley. Starting point guard Jalen Brunson is eligible to sign a four-year, $156.5 million extension next offseason.

The new contract: Four years, $83 million. The $18.5 million starting salary in the first year is 13% of the salary cap in 2024-25. For comparison, it is the same first-year percentage of the rookie extensions that Dejounte Murray and Derrick White signed in San Antonio.

More rookie extension notes

• The Atlanta Hawks have been aggressive in the past two offseasons, signing DeAndre Hunter, Kevin Huerter and Trae Young to rookie extensions. After the cap clearing John Collins trade and signing Dejounte Murray to an extension, general manager Landry Fields has more of a financial runway when it comes to new contracts for Saddiq Bey and Onyeka Okongwu. A new contract for Okongwu would start in 2024-25, the last year Clint Capela is under contract. After being acquired at the trade deadline, Bey started six games, averaging 14.7 points on 50.7% shooting from the field and 40.5% on 3s. The Hawks have $148 million in salary next season, $23 million below the projected luxury tax threshold.

• Isaac Okoro has started 174 out of 210 games the last three seasons but is now likely to come off the bench with the addition of Max Strus. Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers had a 121.6 offensive efficiency when Okoro shared the floor with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the sixth best among 31 lineups to play at least 250 minutes together. The Cavaliers are over the salary cap next season but are a minimum $36 million below the luxury tax.

• The Chicago Bulls signed Zach LaVine to a five-year $215 million contract in 2022 and Nikola Vucevic to a three-year, $60 million extension in June. Patrick Williams, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft, is next up to sign a long-term contract. After missing 65 games in 2021-22 with a wrist injury, Williams played in all 82 games in 2022-23, averaging a career-high 10.2 points. Has shot 41.4% on 3-pointers in his career, which ranks in the top 10 among players with at least 400 3-point attempts since he entered the league in 2020-21. The Bulls could have cap space next offseason but only if DeMar DeRozan does not return and Chicago petitions the NBA to remove the $21.4 million salary of Lonzo Ball, who has not played since January 2021.

• Josh Green is one of five players to shoot 40% on 3s and 60% on 2s last season among individuals to attempt at least 100 shots of each type. Green has increased his 3-point field goal percentage from 16% during his rookie season to 36% in 2021-22 to 40% this past season. Since 2008, the only Dallas Mavericks player who signed a rookie extension was Luka Doncic. The Mavericks have $160 million in projected salary, $12 million below the luxury tax. Their lone free agents are Green, Markieff Morris, Derrick Jones Jr. and Richaun Holmes (player option).

• Acquired by the Indiana Pacers in July, Obi Toppin is likely the Pacers starting power forward, but there is no rush to sign an extension right now. “Obi is someone that we haven’t seen on our team yet. We’d like to see how things play out there,” GM Chad Buchanan told the media. The fit with Toppin with the Pacers could be seamless. Over the past 2 seasons, Toppin has a 75.1% effective field goal percentage in transition, best in the NBA during that span among players with at least 150 shots. This past season, the Pacers made 664 shots in transition, the most in the NBA per Second Spectrum.

• Precious Achiuwa is one of four Toronto Raptors (Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby) eligible to sign an extension. He is one of three players last season to increase his field goal percentage on layups and dunks by 10% among individuals to attempt at least 200 of these shots in each season, along with De’Aaron Fox and Jaren Jackson Jr. The concern for Toronto is how much Achiuwa will play behind Jakob Poeltl. When Poeltl was acquired in February, Achiuwa saw his minutes decrease from 23.6 to 15.7.

• Others: Zeke Nnaji (Denver), Killian Hayes (Detroit), James Wiseman (Detroit), Aaron Nesmith (Indiana), Kira Lewis Jr. (New Orleans), Aleksej Pokusevski (Oklahoma City), Chuma Okeke (Orlando), Cole Anthony (Orlando), Malachi Flynn (Toronto) and Deni Avdija (Washington)

Veteran extension candidates

The NBA adjusted the extension rules in the new CBA, increasing the amount a player’s salary can rise in the first year of an extension from 120% of his previous salary to 140%. As a result, Knicks guard Josh Hart earned an extra $12 million in his new extension.

However, the new rules still don’t make extensions financially beneficial for players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell, O.G. Anunoby and Lauri Markkanen.

Antetokounmpo and Mitchell each have three years left on their contract (including a player option in 2025-26), and can extend up until Oct. 23 for three seasons, one of which would replace the player option. That would only add $117 million in new money for Antetokounmpo and $108 million for Mitchell.

By waiting until next offseason, Antetokounmpo would be eligible to sign a four-year, $234 million extension. Mitchell could sign for four years and $200 million.

“Money is not important, but a lot of f—ing money is important,” Antetokounmpo said at media day. “So I’m going to sign it next year. It doesn’t make sense right now. I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career — as long as we are winning. It’s as simple as that.”

Anunoby is eligible to sign a four-year, $116 million extension up until June 30. However, Anunoby is projected as one of the top forwards in the 2024 free-agent class, and by waiting he could double the amount of money he gets.

Markkanen can extend up until Oct. 23 for three seasons and an additional $81.9 million. The Jazz are projected to have cap space next offseason and can renegotiate Markkanen’s $18 million salary and then extend, comparable to what the Sacramento Kings did with Domantas Sabonis this summer, adding an additional $9.5 million in salary and then extending for $186 million.

There are five players who are extension eligible now but could gain supermax eligibility next offseason: Jamal Murray, Brandon Ingram, Pascal Siakam, De’Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo.

Murray missed the entire 2021-22 season recovering from a torn left ACL and is eligible up until Oct. 23 to sign a three-year, $145 million extension. If he earned All-NBA honors in 2023-24, he’d become eligible for a five-year, $303 million supermax contract. Ingram played a career low 45 games last year and is eligible to sign a three-year, $145 million extension, similar to Murray.

Siakam is eligible to sign a four-year, $190 million extension but Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri is in no rush to get a deal done immediately.

“We do believe in Pascal,” Ujiri said during Toronto’s media day. “We do believe that a lot of our players didn’t play the right way last year, and we want to see them play the right way.”

Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have $48.3 million player options for next season. While they could sign extensions now, the new CBA allows them to decline their options and sign a new long-term deal that includes less money in the first year of the contract, giving the Clippers more financial flexibility.

For all these veterans, it is important to note that players signing a lucrative extension during the regular season is rare. Since the 2020-21 season, only eight players have signed an extension during the regular season with only Jrue Holiday’s extension exceeding $30 million in the first year.

After being traded twice this offseason, Holiday is once again extension eligible with the Boston Celtics, but not until April 1. Meanwhile, Holiday’s new teammate Derrick White has two years left on his contract and is eligible to sign a three-year, $88.7 million extension up until Oct. 23 .

White is deserving of a new contract, but do the supermax extensions of Jaylen Brown (already signed), Jayson Tatum (eligible to sign next summer), a Kristaps Porzingis extension and possible Holiday new contract in April put the Celtics in a holding pattern?

October 23 deadline: Clint Capela, Ben Simmons, Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, JT Thor, Alex Caruso, Donovan Mitchell, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jamal Murray, Chris Paul, TJ McConnell, Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Brandon Ingram, Davis Bertans, Jonathan Isaac, De’Aaron Fox, Devonte’ Graham and Lauri Markannen.

June 30 deadline: Royce O’Neale, Spencer Dinwiddie, Gordon Hayward, DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Richaun Holmes, Joe Harris, Monte Morris, Isaiah Livers, Alec Burks, Klay Thompson, Buddy Hield, Daniel Theis, Marcus Morris, KJ Martin, Brandon Boston Jr., Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Xavier Tillman Sr., Luke Kennard, Isaiah Todd, Kyle Lowry, Grayson Allen, Mike Conley, Jordan McLaughlin, Naji Marshall, Jonas Valanciunas, Miles McBride, Evan Fournier, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aaron Wiggins, Markelle Fultz, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Furkan Korkmaz, Cedi Osman, Khem Birch, Doug McDermott, Zach Collins, Pascal Siakam OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., Kelly Olynyk and Talen Horton-Tucker