Monday, October 19 is the single most consequential administrative day on the NBA calendar, and most fans will not notice it happening. Four separate deadlines expire within one hour of each other.
At 4 p.m. Central, every team must cut to a maximum of 15 standard contracts and three two-way deals. At 5 p.m. Central, the rookie-scale extension window closes for the 2023 draft class. The same day is the last chance to convert an Exhibit 10 into a two-way contract, and the last chance for veterans who are not in the final year of their deals to sign extensions.
Two days earlier, on October 17, teams can still waive a player on a non-guaranteed contract and owe nothing. That is where most of the cuts will land.
The Pritchard Problem Is the Most Interesting One
Payton Pritchard became extension-eligible October 1. He is on a four-year, $30 million extension signed in 2023 that pays him $7,767,857 this season and $8,303,571 next, after which he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2028.
The most Boston can give him right now is three years and $69 million. If he waits until next offseason, the projection is roughly four years and $100 million.
That is a $31 million gap created entirely by a calendar rule. Pritchard’s incentive is to do nothing, which is the correct play and also the one that leaves him exposed to injury for a full season on $7.8 million.
These are the decisions the October 19 deadline actually forces, and they are almost always resolved by players taking the later money.
Who Else Is Unsigned
Jaden McDaniels faces the same Monday cutoff in Minnesota. He is on the five-year, $136 million extension he signed in October 2023. Bobby Marks has floated a two-year, $87 million structure beginning in 2029-30.
Dereck Lively II remains unsigned in Dallas on his rookie scale. Marks suggested a three-year, $35 million deal starting around $10.8 million with the third year tied to a 41-game threshold, which is injury-protection language for a center who has played seven games in two years.
The rest of the rookie-scale class with no reported terms: Bilal Coulibaly in Washington, Gradey Dick with the Clippers, Jarace Walker in Indiana, Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh in Utah, Noah Clowney in Brooklyn, Julian Strawther in Denver, Ben Sheppard in Indiana, Kris Murray in Portland and Marcus Sasser.
Zion Williamson is eligible in New Orleans and reporting indicates no extension is coming while the Pelicans evaluate their direction.
What Already Got Done
Victor Wembanyama signed a five-year projected $252.3 million max on July 10, notably without the escalators that could have taken it to $302.8 million. Amen Thompson got five years and $208 million from Houston on September 3, with raises from $35.9 million to $47.3 million. Ausar Thompson signed for five years and $155 million in Detroit on September 22 after a season averaging 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-leading 2.0 steals, making All-Defensive First Team.
The Thompson twins’ deals total $363 million, reportedly the first pair of brothers to each sign a contract above $100 million.
Keyonte George signed for five years and $157.5 million in Utah. Pelle Larsson got up to $60 million over four years in Miami.
New York Just Opted Out of the Whole Thing
The biggest story of the week is a team choosing not to participate. On October 9 the Knicks told ESPN’s Shams Charania they “will not be negotiating contract extensions until later in the season.”
Per Bobby Marks, that freezes Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Miles McBride and Tyler Kolek. New York has until June 30 to complete deals with the players whose deadline falls in an option year.
It is a defensible choice for a defending champion that wants to start a season without contract noise. It is also a bet that none of those four has a season good enough to cost the Knicks money by waiting.
The regular season opens Tuesday, October 20.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.