Extension/Retention Roundup
*Note: Contract information is yet to be finalized, and the initial reporting is often most favorable to the player. It’s possible that some of the deals below will end up containing non-guarantees and/or team options that will only be publicized when the contract is officially signed*
Celtics lock up Jayson Tatum, Derrick White:
F Jayson Tatum: 5 years (fifth year player option), 35% max (projected total of $314M)
G Derrick White: 4 years (fourth year player option), $126M
There was never any talk that Jayson Tatum was thinking of leaving Boston at the end of his current contract, but it still has to be a relief to Celtics’ brass that the face of their franchise is now locked in through the ‘28-29 season. As I wrote in my Celtics offseason primer, the only real question about the structure of Tatum’s extension was whether or not he’d receive a player option in the final season, which it appears that he has. Said player option is for his age 31 season (‘29-30), and will be worth a jaw-dropping $71.4M.
Derrick White wasn’t quite as certain to receive an extension offer as Tatum, but in the end, it seems like securing his future was a fairly easy call for Boston. White’s extension will cover his age 31-34 seasons, and while he might be slightly overpaid by the end, I expect him to still be a very valuable player as he reaches his mid-30s due to his shooting and defensive intelligence. White’s player option in ‘27-28 may actually end up being a boon for the Celtics, as they could have him opt-out with the understanding that they’ll re-sign him to a new long-term deal, at a lower annual figure.
Transactions that save money against the cap, no matter how small, are going to be critical for the Celtics because this team is about to get preposterously expensive. With each member of their starting five now set to earn at least $28M in the ‘25-26 season, Boston’s active roster charge for that year is currently well over $200M with just 7 players under contract. Whether due to second apron restrictions or an unwillingness to continue making gigantic luxury tax payments, the Celtics’ window with this core may end up being finite.
Raptors cement Barnes and Quickley as foundational pieces:
F Scottie Barnes: 5 years, 25% max (projected total of $226M)
G Immanuel Quickley: 5 years, $175M
By trading away Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby during the ‘23-24 season, Toronto announced its intention to center their rebuild around Scottie Barnes. As such, it’s no surprise that his max rookie extension was one of the first deals to be announced once free agency opened. Barnes still has work to do to prove he’s the lead engine of an above-average offense, but he’s only entering his age-24 season, and Toronto was at least able to make this a straight five-year deal with no player option on the end. If he makes an All-NBA team next season, the starting salary for ‘25-26 could jump from 25% to as much as 30% of the salary cap, which would bring the projected total up from $226M to as much as $270M.
While Immanuel Quickley re-signing in Toronto is no surprise, $175M is a fair bit more than I projected in my Raptors offseason primer, when I pegged his per-season salary to settle somewhere between $20-$25M. I like Quickley quite a bit, and I think he’ll settle in as an above-average starting point guard, but an AAV of $35M is a lot to pay for that type of player. Between the money Toronto now owes to Barnes, Quickley, R.J. Barrett and Jakob Poeltl over the next three seasons, they are going to be hard-pressed to add significant talent elsewhere, unless it's in the draft. Those players (except for Poeltl) are still young enough that there’s plenty of room for improvement, but I’m not even sure that’s the core of a sure-fire playoff team, let alone any sort of contender. I’m not saying I wouldn’t have eventually agreed to this deal with Quickley if it came down to it, but I don’t think it represents tremendous value from the team side.
Donovan Mitchell commits to Cleveland…for now:
G Donovan Mitchell: 3 years (third year player option), 30% max (projected total of $150M)
Although Cleveland had always projected confidence in regards to Mitchell’s extension prospects, the threat of him opting to test free agency has loomed over the organization since they first acquired him from Utah. With Mitchell now locked in through the ‘26-27 season, the Cavs have at least extended the runway of their current core, and it appears as though they’re hoping that improved health and a coaching change will unlock their path to a deep playoff run.
However, as Mitchell is only tacking two years onto his existing deal before the player option in ‘27-28, it’s very possible that Cleveland is doing this same dance once again two summers from now. Reporting indicates that Mitchell’s intent with the short-term deal is to ink a second extension with Cleveland once he hits 10 years of service time and becomes eligible for the 35% max. While that may well be the case, it’s also true that structuring the current contract this way preserves some of his optionality, and allows him to influence his eventual trade destination should that be how his time in Cleveland comes to a close.
In the immediate, it remains to be seen whether the Cavs will look to reorient their core by trading Jarrett Allen and/or Darius Garland, but I’m guessing that Cleveland is going to stand pat for at least one more year. The Cavs need more talent to compete with Boston, Philadelphia and New York at the top of the East, but their current team should be good enough to hover around 50 wins, and the obvious avenue to break through that ceiling isn’t readily apparent.
Nuggets keep Jamal Murray from testing free agent waters:
G Jamal Murray: 4 years, 30% max (projected total of $208M)
With Murray set to enter the final year of his current contract in ‘24-25, locking in his extension now was a top priority for Denver this offseason. While Murray has actually never made an All-Star team, he’s a proven playoff contributor and has already been the second-best player on a championship team, so it’s no surprise that the Nuggets had to offer him his full max salary in order to keep him off the open market next summer. If Murray had taken things all the way to free agency, he could have gotten more guaranteed money from Denver by becoming eligible for a five-year deal. However, given that he does have a somewhat extensive injury history, it probably makes more sense for Murray to lock in the guaranteed money now, and he’ll still only be 31 by the end of this new deal, meaning he probably has one more huge-money extension left.
As far as Denver’s books are concerned, they now have ~$150M committed to three players (Murray, Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr.) for the ‘25-26 season, and Aaron Gordon will almost surely be looking for a raise off his $22.8M player option. That means the Nuggets are basically a lock to be over the second apron in both ‘25-26 and ‘26-27, which might be why they prioritized getting below the apron for this upcoming season by letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk.
Bam Adebayo is the flag-bearer of Heat Culture:
C Bam Adebayo: 3 years, 30% max (projected total of $166M)
Adebayo still has two years left on his current deal, but both he and the Heat will get out in front of his financial future by locking in three additional seasons (‘26-27 - ‘28-29) at the 30% max. While Adebayo could have given himself a chance at eligibility for the 35% max had he played out the ‘24-25 season and been named Defensive Player of the Year, it’s probably a safer bet for a player of his stature to lock in guaranteed money as soon as possible.
From Miami’s perspective, extending Bam through his age-31 season rather than waiting an extra year and having to pay him well over $60M in his age-32 season is a nice piece of business. Conveniently, this new deal for Adebayo will kick in right as Jimmy Butler’s contract comes off the books, so Miami still projects to have significant financial flexibility in the summer of 2026. Adebayo might be slightly overpaid at the 30% max, especially as he hits his 30s and his defense starts to slip, but he’s clearly the cultural centerpiece of the franchise. Additionally, his versatility on both ends of the court provides Miami with a lot of optionality as they (eventually) move past the Jimmy Butler era and look to build a new contender.
OG Anunoby gets all the money from the Knicks:
F OG Anunoby: 5 years (fifth year player option), $212.5M
After trading for Anunoby during the ‘23-24 season in order to secure his Bird Rights, the Knicks were never going to let him get away this summer. However, I’m sure they were hoping to not have to go quite this high to retain him, as although Anunoby is perhaps the league’s premier 3&D complementary piece, paying a player with almost zero individual shot creation ability an average annual value of $42.5M is not ideal. In the short term, while all three of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Julius Randle are on below-market contracts, New York’s books are manageable. On the other hand, with Brunson’s contract likely to jump from $25M to ~$45M in ‘25-26, and Bridges set to leap from $25M to at least $35M in ‘26-27, the Knicks are going to get very expensive in a hurry. What they decide to do with Julius Randle, either now while they can (theoretically) trade him for positive value, or next summer when he could walk in free agency for nothing, will be the key to New York’s team building as they look to construct a championship contender.
Brooklyn retains their young center:
Especially once the Nets clarified their organizational direction by trading Mikal Bridges, retaining Nic Claxton makes sense for Brooklyn. Claxton has flashed moments of elite defense so far in his career, and at just 25 years old, he has plenty of room to continue to develop over the next few seasons. Although he’s probably overpaid by roughly $5M per season on this new deal, Brooklyn’s books are wide open once Ben Simmons’ contract finally ends at the conclusion of the ‘24-25 season. If Claxton hits his top end outcome, he’ll be a valuable trade asset in the coming years, and even if his growth stagnates, he’ll at least provide solid starting center play for a Brooklyn team that figures to be awful otherwise.