Jaylen Brown is a very rich man.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Dwyer/AP.)
Today was the final day for rookie contract extensions to be made. And after a few rumors and gossip, teams got some important deals done earlier.
Obviously, the pic on this headline is of Jaylen Brown. So let’s start with him.
Jaylen Brown gets a 4-year, $115 million extension with the Boston Celtics.
This was right after the initial offer of 4 years and $80 million. Brown didn’t make the huge jump that people thought he was going to make in this third year but he was also forced to play most of the season off the bench.
The locker room environment could be much improved this year after the very public turmoil of last season. With a new contract in tow, that predicted jump may finally come this season. That’s probably a year later than most people thought but it’s better late than never.
Jaylen averaged 13 points and 4.2 boards per game last season. But he IS on his way to becoming an excellent two-way player.
Buddy Hield gets a 4-year, $94 million extension ($106 million with incentives) with the Sacramento Kings
The Kings had to lock Buddy Hield up. Buddy notably said that the initial offer of 4 years and $90 million was an insult. Then he asked to name one big free agent that went to Sacramento.
But he also said that he was looking more for a fair deal rather than the max. Obviously, everyone wants a max deal but he got the fair deal that he wanted. And it was key for the Kings to lock him up because Buddy Hield is right. Which quality NBA players could they get should Buddy Hield and, possibly later, De’Aaron Fox leave?
The 26-year-old averaged 20.7 points and 5 rebounds per while shooting a cool .427 from behind the arc. Yeah, the Kings need to keep that type of player.
Domantas Sabonis gets a 4-year, $77 million extension ($85 million with incentives) with the Indiana Pacers
Baby Sabonis was a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year as he put up averages of 14.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in nearly 25 minutes a contest. The 6’11” center has improved vastly in his last two seasons and is expected to play alongside Myles Turner, going against the current grain of the small ball, pace-and-space league.
We’ll see how the experiment and time warp works. And if it does, it would be great because I personally want to see different styles in the league. Sabonis could very well be a top big man (along with Turner!) in the very near future if his production keeps up the way it does.
DeJounte Murray gets a 4-year, $64 million extension with the San Antonio Spurs
Murray was handed the keys to the Spurs in the 2017-18 season as he showed marked improvement in his sophomore season, especially on the defensive end. He made the all-defensive second team that season.
A torn ACL, however, sidelined him for the entire 2018-19 season. Still, both sides showed they were loyal to each other by agreeing to this deal. It’s hard for Murray not to take this deal because you never know with injuries. But if he can get back to being a fantastic perimeter defender and improves on his offensive game, this contract is a steal for San Antonio.
Murray averaged 8.1 points and 5.7 boards in his last active season (2017-18).
Taurean Prince gets a 2-year, $29 million extension with the Brooklyn Nets
Prince was productive with the Hawks last season but he still went to the Nets in a trade involving Allen Crabbe. He averaged 13.5 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 39 percent from three. Not bad.
He could be called a ball-stopper. He’s not where he should be on the defensive end. But there could be some potential here. Prince could be looked at as one of the main options in Brooklyn with Kevin Durant expecting to sit out the season.
This COULD be a sneaky good deal for the Nets.
As for all of you, time to cross off all these names off the free agency list for the next season. Maybe y’all should pray that some weird trade happens over the next few months.
(I’m also aware Pascal Siakam got a 4-year, $130 million extension with the Raptors. That’s obviously great for Pascal. And the Raptors are going to bank on his improvement and becoming the franchise. We’ve seen what he did in the playoffs.)
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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