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On the eve of the 2024-25 NBA season, players around the league are gearing up for what should be a super competitive year. While the focus of the NBA as a whole is on Tuesday's opening night, young talents like Jonathan Kuminga, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, and others have had their eyes set on rookie-scale contract extensions.
Unlike regular free agent contracts that are negotiated in the NBA offseason between teams, players, and their agents, these contract extensions for players still having their current rookie deals are oftentimes the hardest to navigate simply because they represent projections and chance.
While Kuminga has a lot of potential and promise, the Golden State Warriors are tasked with putting a value on his future while also needing to appease their emerging talent and his representation. The same can be said about Sengun and Green with the Houston Rockets, an organization that is still working on building themselves into a real contender again after the departure of James Harden in 2021. Unlike Kuminga, who did not receive a new deal, Green and Sengun secured their long-term commitment from the Rockets.
Several players from the 2021 NBA Draft class, not just those named above, have been in talks with their respective organizations this offseason leading up to the start of the new season regarding a possible contract extension. Trey Murphy III of the New Orleans Pelicans, Moses Moody of the Warriors, Jalen Suggs of the Orlando Magic, Corey Kispert of the Washington Wizards, Jalen Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks, and both Sengun and Green earned extensions with their respective teams right before Monday evening's NBA extension deadline.
Unlike Kuminga, Moody and the Warriors agree to a three-year, $39 million extension to remain a key secondary talent for Golden State. Although there was some discussion of Moody and his camp holding out over the summer, it had become clear that the Warriors wanted to lock him up on a new commitment. Initially, Moody was searching for a four-year extension, league sources told ClutchPoints, yet the two sides were able to come to terms on a three-year deal.
In Murphy's case, he earned a four-year, $112 million contract from the Pelicans. Through the years, Murphy has shown steady growth as a key offensive weapon for New Orleans, and he has stepped up numerous times in the absence of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. There is a real internal belief that Murphy can be the face of the Pelicans, sources said, which is why their long-term commitment to the 24-year-old is not all that surprising. After all, Ingram continues to be a prominent name in trade talks for the Pelicans.
Suggs, an All-Defensive guard and one of the key building blocks for the Magic, earned a five-year, $150.5 million contract with an annual average value of $30.1 million on Monday. Kispert got a similar deal to what the Wizards gave Deni Avdija a couple of seasons ago, as he received a four-year, $54 million contract extension. The Hawks were also busy in the Eastern Conference by giving Johnson, an emerging forward, a five-year, $150 million extension.
Out of all the new extensions that were agreed upon in the NBA on Monday, Kuminga remains without the long-term commitment he sought from the Warriors. His future is now uncertain, as the 2024-25 NBA season is about proving that he is worth the max-level contract extension that was asked for.
Jonathan Kuminga – Golden State Warriors
Last season was one to forget for the Warriors, as nothing seemed to go right. Between the constant lineup changes and fluctuations with the Western Conference standings, Golden State ended up missing the playoffs due to the fact that they never found their footing. With this said, Jonathan Kuminga was one of the team's only bright spots, as the 22-year-old started in 46 of his 74 appearances, averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor. All of these marks were new career highs for the young, dynamic forward.
Kuminga and his camp held contract discussions with the Warriors dating back to the very end of the 2023-24 season, league sources told ClutchPoints. While the Warriors have held interest in keeping Kuminga, along with Moody, the two sides have long been far apart on Kuminga's overall value leading up to the NBA extensions deadline. Whereas Kuminga and his representation are putting a significant price tag on his potential and growth, Golden State has not been willing to discuss the 22-year-old as a max-level type of player.
With Klay Thompson no longer around, there is a clear path to Kuminga becoming this type of player. Then again, the Warriors understand the risk associated with giving their young talent this type of contract, which is why they are willing to wait and see how the 2024-25 season plays out. The main reason why Kuminga's contract situation is different from Moody's is because Golden State still maintains a level of flexibility with Moody since he signed for around the mid-level exception.
If the Warriors were to agree to terms on a near-max-level deal with Kuminga, he would be locked in with the Warriors for a foreseeable future, a similar scenario to what happened with Jordan Poole following their title run in 2022. The only reason why the Warriors could get out of Poole's contract was because of a unique situation that presented itself with Chris Paul. New first and second apron rules now make situations like this a lot less likely.
Maintaining financial flexibility and having a clear vision for the future have been the two most important governing aspects for the Warriors' front office. The extension given to Moody does not hinder their long-term payroll approach, and a clearer vision for the future will be presented during the 2024-25 season. After all, the Warriors did attempt to trade for both Paul George and Lauri Markkanen just a few months ago, which is why many around the league are still anticipating a big move in the near future from this franchise.
There is no doubt that the Warriors want to keep Kuminga around. He is a player that the organization values, and the growth he has shown as a young, athletic talent on the wing is something that is rare to find in today's league. However, the two sides never came close to an agreement leading up to the 2024-25 season, sources said. A near-max extension is what Kuminga and his camp have long wanted — a deal similar to what Scottie Barnes and Franz Wagner got from the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic, respectively, this offseason. The Warriors, sources said, had been looking to keep him on a new extension in the ballpark of $30 million per season.
With no significant progress being made in contract extension talks, Kuminga now enters the 2024-25 season, one in which he will be a starter for the Warriors and looking to prove that he can be the All-Star talent the organization anticipates him growing into.
Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green – Houston Rockets
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If it weren't for a freak leg injury to Sengun and the Rockets running out of steam last season, they would've been fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. General manager Rafael Stone and Houston's front office have done an excellent job through the years of building a team in their own image, one that can sustain long-term growth through the draft. That is the main reason behind the mindset of keeping Sengun and Green for the foreseeable future.
Despite hearing his name come up in rumors ahead of the trade deadline last season, particularly when the Rockets expressed interest in Mikal Bridges, Green remained a focal point in Houston. At 22 years old, Green continues to evolve into an offensive weapon that uses his athleticism to his advantage at the shooting guard position. Due to the Rockets having talent in their backcourt, Green has not had to expand his usage and take a step back from being a high-level scorer in order to help facilitate the offense. This is also the case because of Sengun's ability to be a do-it-all center like Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis, who tend to initiate their team's offense from the perimeter.
The Rockets have long believed in Green and his potential to be one of the faces of the franchise, which is why the two sides ultimately came to an agreement on a three-year, $106 million contract extension on Monday before the NBA extensions deadline. More importantly, this deal is a win-win for everyone. While Green gets his new contract with an annual average value of $35.3 million, he also gets the ability to opt out after the second year in order to seek a long-term, max contract from Houston. On the other side of things, the organization gets to keep their rising star while also maintaining a level of flexibility since he will need to prove himself further to get that max-level deal.
Essentially, Green is creating opportunity for himself while also cashing in on his value right now. In addition to signing a three-year, $106 million extension, which will hold an annual average value of $35.3 million, Green will be eligible to extend his contract in October 2026 and agree to at least a four-year, $227 million extension, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.
There is real belief from the Rockets that Green can be an All-Star-level player in this league and that he can grow even more heading into his second season with Ime Udoka as the head coach of the team.
With the same belief existing for Sengun, the Rockets reached an agreement on a five-year, $185 million contract with their star center on Monday, sources confirmed to ClutchPoints. Sengun is coming off a career year in which he averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. He finished third in the NBA's Most Improved Player award voting after suffering a season-ending leg injury and missing the final 19 games of the regular season.
For years, the Rockets had been tied to conversations about big men hitting the market, both in free agency and on the trade market. Prior to his new contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brook Lopez was seriously considering signing with the Rockets in 2023, sources said. Ultimately, the Rockets stuck with Sengun, and this is a decision they have not regretted whatsoever. Sengun has shown flashes of being one of the best centers in the NBA given his ability to score in the paint and make others around him better as a passer. Houston added Steven Adams last season not only to fortify their frontcourt but also to help mentor Sengun.
The situation between Sengun and the Rockets was somewhat similar to Kuminga's with the Warriors in terms of the player and his representation wanting max value given his production leading up to the NBA extensions deadline. In Sengun's case, he was a borderline All-Star a season ago and wants to capitalize on his future with a high rookie-scale extension before the 2024-25 season. The Rockets, sources said, were not close on a deal with Sengun, with a week remaining until the start of the 2024-25 season. While the two sides were talking, it was believed that no deal would be reached.
This changed when Sengun and his camp were willing to accept a deal with an annual average value less than $40 million, which is how the sides came together on a $185 million extension that holds an average annual value of $37 million. The team was also willing to offer the 22-year-old center a deal similar to Green's, which would've given him a chance at a max contract a couple of years from now. The need for long-term commitment was needed to make a deal happen, which is why Stone and the Rockets were happy to make this extension their reality.
Green and Sengun are now the future of the Rockets. This has been the case over the last few seasons, and now this will be the case moving forward. Although there have been rumors suggesting Houston is wanting to be active on the trade block, they will no longer do so with Green nor Sengun in mind. With a plethora of other young talents and draft picks, the Rockets are well-equipped to be aggressive on the trade market with any All-Star-level talent that becomes available between now and February's trade deadline.
