An Eastern Conference executive says Pascal Siakam, Jaylen Brown and Buddy Hield have an incentive to wait to sign a contract extension “because the 2020 free-agent class is pretty weak.”
Siakam, Brown and Hield are eligible to sign rookie-scale extensions. If the three players don't sign one with their respective teams before Oct. 21, they will become restricted free agents next summer.
“You have to consider the market and free-agent class when making these decisions. For example, if you look at the market next summer, there are a few teams that will have cap space and there isn’t much of a free-agent class. There’s a big incentive for a lot of these guys [who are up for extensions] like Pascal Siakam, Jaylen Brown and Buddy Hield to wait because the 2020 free-agent class is pretty weak, so it’s possible that they could play their way into a max contract or near-max contract,” the exec told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype.
“If Siakam waits and plays well, he could potentially be the top free agent available next summer. Brown is about to have an increased role in Boston, so the same thing applies for him; he could play his way into a max contract. They’d only need to win over one team with a lot of cap space. And, historically, when teams have cap space, they’ll spend it – even if the free-agent class is weak.”
Siakam averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the Toronto Raptors last season. Under his current contract, Siakam will make $2.4 million this season.
Hield averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists last season for the Sacramento Kings. He'll make $4.9 million in 2019-20 under his current deal.
Brown averaged 13.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Boston Celtics last season. Under his current contract, Brown will make $6.5 million this season.
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