Five 2023 first-round picks signed rookie-scale extensions this offseason and another 16 freshmen from the class of 2023 have yet 5:00 PM CT on Monday, October 19thto sign new deals with their teams.
Here are the five players who have signed rookie scale extensions in 2026, along with the values of their new contracts starting in 2027/28:
Here are the 16 players eligible for rookie scale extensions by Monday’s deadline:
All 16 of those players will be eligible for restricted free agency next year unless they sign an extension before the deadline. That would require each player to finish out a season on their current contract and then receive a qualifying offer in 2027.
In a Front Office History A couple of weeks ago, our own Luke Adams ranked the remaining rookie expansion candidates from least likely to most likely to sign new deals. Miller was No. 1 on Luke’s list, with Murray and Dick taking the bottom two positions (the “not happening” tier). Podzemski, who was the No. 2 pick, signed with Golden State last week.
I figured Miller could get a five-year deal in the $170-$190 million range when I took an in-depth look in its October 4 extension case. Luke thought the former No. 2 overall pick could do better than that, writing that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Hornets wanted to extend Miller’s contract, which is close to the $208 million that Amin Thompson received from Houston.
Luke and I also had a slight disagreement about the value of Jaquez; Luke said he thought it would take “a minimum of $20-25 million per year” to extend Jaques, but I’d guess the former UCLA star could make in the $15-19 million per year range if I studied his candidacy a few days ago. Haques ranked 5th on Luke’s list.
Wallace (No. 3 on Luke’s list) and Black (No. 4) are among the other strong candidates for lucrative extensions, though steam recently reports have questioned Orlando extending Black due to salary cap/luxury tax issues. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst wrote Friday morning that the Magic aren’t willing to pay Black $22 million a year, which is exactly what Podzemski received from the Warriors.
The following players were selected in the first round of the 2023 draft along with the players listed above. However, they are do not appear is eligible for the Novice Scaling for the following reasons:
