This year’s October 19 deadline is less than a week away beginner scale expansionso 2023 first election like Brandon Miller, Cason Wallace, Anthony Black, Scoot Hendersonand Jaime Haques Jr the figure will be at the center of expansion-related rumors for the next six days.
There are also plenty of noteworthy players who could hit unrestricted free agency in 2027 if they don’t sign a veteran extension at some point until next July. This group includes such stars as Karl-Anthony Towns, Janice Antecumba, Anthony Davisand Rudy Goberalong with a number of high level role players including Lugentz is there and RJ Barrett.
But how our 2026/27 expansion tracker points out, not every player who signs a contract extension is a household name. Predators guard Jamal SheddCeltics forward Jordan Walshand Mavericks wing Nazi marshal are among the lesser-known entrants who have been handed an extension from the start of the 26/27 Championship in July.
While we’ll obviously be keeping a close eye on what happens with Miller, Wallace, Towns, Antetokounmpo and other big-name extension candidates in the coming days and months, we also want to highlight a few extension-eligible players who may be overlooked as opening night approaches.
Here are six intriguing contract extension candidates whose contract situations haven’t been the subject of national speculation, but who nonetheless make a case for new deals:
Moussa Diabate (hornets)
Diabate, a second-round pick in 2022, failed to become a rotation player during two-way contracts with the Clippers during his first two NBA seasons and was not even given a qualifying offer when he reached free agency in 2024.
After joining the Hornets as a two-way player during his third season, the former Michigan Wolverine became the team’s backup center, being promoted to the regular roster in February 2025. Then, in 2025/26, after Charlotte traded Mark Williams and Yusuf NurkichDiabetes took on an ever-increasing role, eventually supplanting it Ryan Kalkbrenner as the starting five.
The Hornets’ decision not to add an established veteran center to replace Williams and Nurkic in the 2025 offseason raised a lot of questions, but Diabate made the front office’s decision to bet on him look like a smart one. In 73 outings (47 starts), he averaged 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 blocks in 26.0 minutes per game while shooting 63.1% from the floor.
While Diabate’s scoring stats were highly regarded, they don’t paint the full picture of how effective he was in his role. The the winner NBA Hustle Award winner, the 24-year-old ranked first per minute among qualified players in offensive box-outs, fourth in assists, eighth in offensive turnovers, 10th in contested 2-pointers and 11th in defensive box-outs and contested 3-pointers. The Hornets’ remarkable net rating of +10.5 when Diabate was on the court dropped to just +0.6 when he wasn’t playing.
Miller is Charlotte’s top extension candidate in the short term, but blocking Diabate should also be a priority. He is on track for unrestricted free agency next summer, making $2.46 million this season.
