The NBA season is set to tip off on Tuesday night, which meant Monday was the last day to take care of offseason business.
The deadline for rookie scale extensions (and some veteran deals) for the 2022 draft class arrived at 6 p.m. ET, and a number of players inked long-term money to avoid hitting free agency next summer, while others were left without a fresh contract.
The easy extensions were done quickly, as stars like Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams all signed new deals earlier this offseason. The ones that come down to the deadline are usually a bit more contentious negotiations, with two sides not seeing entirely eye-to-eye. As sports fans are well aware, deadlines create action, and over the past week we’ve seen a flurry of deals get hammered out to avoid any awkwardness going into this season.
At the same time, there are players who will head into the 2025-26 season without a long-term commitment, hoping to prove their value to not only their current team but the entire league before they have a chance to enter free agency either this coming summer or the next.
With the deadline come and gone, we wanted to highlight the winners and losers of the NBA’s extension season.
Winner: Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets
The Rockets held firm in talks with KD about not giving him a max deal, and ultimately the two sides were able to find a happy middle ground at two years, $90 million. That’s still a big contract for Durant going into his age-38 and -39 seasons, but he’s shown few signs of slowing down and remains one of the game’s elite offensive weapons.
Durant wanted to be in Houston and gets a sizable contract, but shows his commitment to trying to win by not demanding the absolute max he could’ve received. That’s not for nothing.
The Rockets traded for Durant in hopes of creating an immediate title window, and by locking Durant in for the next three seasons, they’ve done just that. Had the two sides ended up in a stalemate, the pressure would’ve intensified on Houston to win a title this season, and while the expectations are still to contend, they’ll feel like they’ve given themselves a three-year window to compete.
Loser: Trae Young
There was a time not long ago where Young would’ve had a max extension waiting for him in July, the moment the Hawks could’ve offered it. But as teams adapt to the new restrictions of the apron era, stars like Young are no longer going to get those offers by default. The Hawks seem willing to take this into the summer and let the market prove to Young what’s out there for him if he chooses to decline his player option.
To be clear, Young will be fine long-term and will undoubtedly get a big pay day next summer if he and the Hawks don’t reach an extension during this season. That said, he’s among the first young stars to face the apron squeeze after watching so many around him get locked in. Making matters more frustrating is that he finally has the kind of supporting cast around him in Atlanta that seems optimal for maximizing his strengths and masking his weaknesses, but he’s not guaranteed to be in that situation long-term.
The good news for Young is that he will have the chance to show what he can do in an apparent ideal team environment, but even if that kind of “prove it” season shouldn’t be necessary.
Winner: Christian Braun
Braun’s five-year, $125 million deal was on the high end of projections for what the Nuggets’ guard would get in extension talks. Denver clearly believes last year’s offensive leap from Braun was just the beginning, as he averaged 15.4 points per game on 58.0/39.7/82.7 shooting splits — all career bests. They rewarded him with a substantial extension to be part of their new core alongside Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson.
Braun went from a decent bench player to a crucial starter last year, and seizing on that opportunity paid off in the form of a very significant pay raise. For the Nuggets, they don’t have a ton of avenues to upgrade their roster, having already pulled the trigger on trading Michael Porter Jr. for Johnson. That was their only chance at a major trade, and on paper it looks like a home run. They’re all-in on this group, but if Braun’s shooting improvement holds, he is a near-perfect shooting guard for this team.
Braun’s development into a quality starter was a necessity for Denver to extend their title window with Jokić and they were not going to risk letting him walk or ruining their good vibes by letting this become a restricted free agent standoff.
Loser: Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers couldn’t extend Austin Reaves by Monday’s deadline, not because they didn’t want to but due to the restrictions on what they were allowed to offer. The max L.A. could offer Reaves was four years, $89 million, which is well off what he’s projected to get in free agency. While Reaves has stated his desire to stay with the Lakers long-term, he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and there is always some uncertainty that comes with that.
Perhaps Reaves would’ve been willing to sign a hometown discount type deal this offseason to stay with the Lakers, but with deals projected near $40 million annually (or more) on the table next summer, it’ll be much harder for Reaves to ignore what other teams will be offering. This is where the CBA can hurt teams that make savvy signings, and with Reaves vastly over-performing his current deal, the Lakers had no shot to lock him in long-term this summer.
Now they’ll have to wait until next July to get a deal done and hope someone doesn’t woo Reaves away with an offer they aren’t willing to match.
Winner: Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers locked in two of their young core pieces over the weekend. First they signed Toumani Camara, a breakout defensive star from last year, to a four-year, $82 million extension. Shortly after, they inked Shaedon Sharpe to a four-year, $90 million extension that keeps that pair in Portland long-term.
Given the kind of money we’ve seen thrown around lately, being able to lock up two quality players with upside to 8-figure deals is a win for Portland. There is still a speculative element to Sharpe, but he showed some real growth last year, taking a major stride in terms of his efficiency as a finisher in his third season. He averaged 18.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and while the 3-point shot is still the big question that will determine exactly what level of offensive threat he becomes, he’s started to harness his explosiveness and has real star upside (especially if the shooting ever clicks).
With Camara, they get an elite-level defender on the wing to sign for a team-friendly number. That $82 million figure is extremely reasonable for an All-Defense caliber forward who also shot 37.5% from 3-point range last season. To get that kind of deal done without needing to squeeze a guy in restricted free agency (which always strains the player-team relationship) is a win for the Blazers.
Loser: Tyler Herro
Coming off a career year, Herro is also extension eligible, but all indications are he won’t be getting an extension from Miami right now. The Heat are prioritizing flexibility for the summer of 2027, when a number of big names could hit free agency. Miami has long looked to capitalize on their status as a free-agent destination, but for a player like Herro, he will wonder why there’s no urgency to lock him down long-term.
Herro proved last year he can be an offensive engine as a lead scorer but, like Trae Young, his deficiencies as a defender lead to questions about the ceiling of a team built around a player of that archetype. Teams simply aren’t as eager to offer max-type deals to players of that profile anymore. Adding to some of the stress for Herro is that he’s going to miss time to start this season after offseason foot surgery and Miami isn’t expected to be a strong contender, even in a weakened Eastern Conference.
That will make it tough for him to add another All-Star appearance to his résumé and if the Heat aren’t rushing to get a deal done with him off of his sensational 2024-25 campaign, one has to wonder what his market will look like in two summers.
Winner: Keegan Murray
There was a time after his rookie year where Keegan Murray might’ve expected to be in the max extension conversation, but after a pair of down years from 3-point range, Murray still worked out a five-year, $140 million deal to stay with the Kings.
Sacramento has not been an ideal situation for a young complementary player like Murray over the past two seasons. Injuries, trades, coaching changes and roster turnover have made it difficult for him to find that same level of comfort from his rookie season when the Kings broke out of their playoff drought. Even so, the Kings still clearly believe in the talent, and were willing to give Murray a very large, albeit not max, contract offer this summer.
We have seen some players turn that down in the past, but as often as we praise those who bet on themselves, there’s something to be said for not letting a good opportunity slip by. Murray has undoubtedly seen how stingy teams have been in restricted free agency in recent years, and for players that aren’t clearly max guys, the offers don’t often increase during an RFA standoff. He wouldn’t have to look far to see what happened to Jonathan Kuminga in Golden State and, whether he believes he can take on a bigger role or not, that opportunity likely isn’t out there next summer. Add in the general uncertainty of the Kings’ roster, and there’s no guarantee he’d even have the chance to really prove he’s worth more.
Loser: Detroit Pistons
The Pistons didn’t work out deals with Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren and will now wait until next summer to figure out the futures of their young guard and center. Ivey not getting an extension isn’t a surprise given his injury history, as both sides want to see how he performs this season (once he’s back from his latest injury).
Not signing Duren feels like the miss for Detroit. Perhaps they’ll get him at a good number next summer, but he was pivotal for them last year and took real strides on both ends of the court. For a team trying to build off that season but needing internal development to do so after making moves on the margins this summer, not getting Duren locked in feels like it could work negatively for all parties.
This was a chance to reward him for his performance last year and show some belief in him coming off a career year, but instead you run the risk of him questioning the team’s commitment to him. The Pistons don’t have any great long-term options beyond Duren at center, and sometimes playing hardball on an extension can disrupt the positive vibes in the locker room and needs to play into the calculus for a front office.
Winner: Dyson Daniels
Daniels’ four-year, $100 million extension is a massive deal for a player who wasn’t projected anywhere near that kind of money a year ago. However, when you put up a season that wins you Most Improved Player and lands you a first-team All-Defense spot, averaging 3 steals per game, you gain some serious leverage in extension talks.
There were reports that Daniels’ camp was hoping for a similar deal to Jalen Suggs’ five-year, $150 million deal in Orlando, but he still lands a $25 million per year deal. For a guy who had failed to carve out a major role in his first two years in New Orleans, he’s a testament to what the right situation can do for a young player.
From the Hawks’ perspective, they are able to lock up an elite point of attack defender for a reasonable price that pairs with Jalen Johnson’s extension from last summer to give them a strong defensive foundation. GM Onsi Saleh continues to make savvy moves in his first summer in charge in Atlanta and now he’s rewarded Daniels with a handsome extension without bending much in negotiations.
Daniels is a near-perfect complement for Trae Young in the backcourt given what he can do to mask Young’s defensive deficiencies, and if he can continue to improve into even a league-average shooter, this deal will age well in Atlanta.
Loser: Tari Eason
While the Rockets got new deals for Jabari Smith Jr. and Kevin Durant this summer, Tari Eason ended up as the odd man out. With Amen Thompson needing an extension next summer, it was hard for Houston to feel comfortable paying Eason what he wanted. Eason is coming off of a solid year (12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 0.9 blocks per game) and is a big part of their defensive depth, but at some point it becomes tough to pay everyone when you’re a team like the Rockets.
The problem Eason faces is he might not have a ton of opportunity to show he can do a lot more given the depth of this Rockets team on the wing. That means he’ll go into restricted free agency needing some team to really value what he can bring defensively to want to push the Rockets with an offer sheet. Considering we’ve seen very few offer sheets in recent years, that’s unlikely to happen, and Eason will likely find himself in the same kind of restricted free agent purgatory that a number of players found themselves this summer.