Three players among those eligible for rookie scale extensions this year have already put pen to paper, but several key decisions loom in the three weeks left before the October 31st deadline. A half dozen players signed rookie scale extensions last fall, but most who could have done so instead wound up in free agency this summer.
The results were decidedly mixed, and just about every possible outcome came to pass among the 12 players who went without rookie scale extensions a year ago. Two re-signed with their teams on long-term deals, four signed with other teams, two inked qualifying offers, and one is no longer playing in the NBA. Another signed an offer sheet, only to see his former team match and yank him back, while two were traded after failing to reach extensions but re-signed with their new team this summer.
Here’s a look at what happened with each of the players who were up for rookie scale extensions in 2013, including those who signed extensions as well as those who became free agents.
- Eric Bledsoe — Phoenix’s brass passed on an extension to see how he would perform last year as a starter for the first time, and the Suns and Bledsoe engaged in the summer’s most contentious negotiations before striking a five-year, $70MM deal.
- Trevor Booker — The Wizards and Booker didn’t reach an extension, and after the power forward met the starter criteria to up his qualifying offer, Washington decided against extending him the QO and made him an unrestricted free agent. Booker will earn more than the qualifying offer would have given him this season in the first year of a two-year, $9.775MM deal with the Jazz.
- Avery Bradley — The Celtics and Bradley didn’t come to terms on an extension, but they committed to each other this summer with a four-year, $32MM contract.
- DeMarcus Cousins — The Kings went all-in with their talented but temperamental center, signing him to a four-year, maximum salary extension.
- Jordan Crawford — Boston unsurprisingly passed on an extension, but he performed capably as a fill-in at point guard for the Celtics last season. He didn’t play nearly as well as Stephen Curry‘s backup after a trade sent him to the Warriors, and he wound up heading to China for this coming season.
- Ed Davis — CEO Jason Levien‘s regime was high on the big man, but they didn’t come to terms on an extension. GM Chris Wallace, having been restored to power, prefers to ride with Zach Randolph instead, and Randolph’s veteran extension helped push Davis out of Memphis and to the Lakers on a two-year, minimum salary deal.
- Derrick Favors — The former No. 3 overall pick signed a four-year, $48MM extension with the Jazz that looks like a bargain for the team next to Hayward’s deal.
- Paul George — The Pacers made him their Designated Player, giving him a five-year, maximum-salary extension. George actually wound up with a little less than he could have made, since he triggered the Derrick Rose rule after agreeing to take less than the 30% max the rule would afford him. Still, the slight discount is of little solace to the Pacers, who’ll likely be without him for the whole season after he broke his leg this summer.
- Gordon Hayward — He and the Jazz didn’t come to terms on an extension, unlike his teammate Favors, and he scored a four-year, maximum-salary offer sheet from the Hornets, which Utah matched.
- Greg Monroe — Agent David Falk doesn’t generally sign extensions and didn’t come to terms with former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. New coach/executive Stan Van Gundy was in place by the time Monroe hit restricted free agency, but Falk and his client were still reluctant to make a long-term commitment. Monroe wound up boldly signing Detroit’s $5.48MM qualfying offer to hit unrestricted free agency next year.
- Patrick Patterson — It certainly wasn’t a shock when he and the Kings went without an extension last fall, and it wasn’t altogether surprising when trade-happy GM Pete D’Alessandro sent the power forward out in a swap. Patterson nonetheless played a key role on a suddenly insurgent Raptors team, and Toronto re-signed him to a new three-year, $18.15MM contract this summer.
- Quincy Pondexter — He signed a four-year, $14MM extension with the Grizzlies that was probably the most unexpected extension of the bunch last year.
- Larry Sanders — The Bucks inked him to a four-year, $44MM extension, a deal that soon looked regrettable as a season to forget unfolded for Milwaukee and its center.
- Kevin Seraphin — Agent Rich Paul, who threatened to have Bledsoe sign his qualifying offer, also represents Seraphin, who did just that, inking his QO worth $3.899MM to return to the Wizards.
- Evan Turner — The Sixers decided against tabbing the former No. 2 overall pick as a building block of their new core, declining to extend his contract last fall and shipping him to the Pacers at the deadline. Turner’s numbers as an Indiana reserve paled next to what he put up on a depleted Philadelphia team, and the Pacers didn’t tender a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He wound up with a two-year, $6.704MM deal from the Celtics.
- Ekpe Udoh — The Bucks committed to Sanders as their big man instead, passing on an extension with Udoh and later declining to tender a qualifying offer. The former sixth overall pick spent most of the summer on the market before signing a one-year, minimum salary deal to join the Clippers.
- Greivis Vasquez — The 28th overall pick from 2010 seemed primed for an extension after averaging 9.0 assists per game for the Pelicans in his third NBA season, but the Kings decided against it after trading for him in the summer of 2013. Sacramento flipped him to Toronto in the same trade that sent Patterson out, and like Patterson, Vasquez became a key reserve for the Raptors. He fell in love with Toronto and inked a new two-year, $13MM contract.
- John Wall — The Wizards took a leap of faith, signing Wall to a five-year, maximum salary extension, and the team’s newly christened Designated Player paid immediate dividends, helping lead Washington to its best postseason performance in more than three decades.