#头条创作挑战赛 #
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey is still a year away from signing a contract extension, and while it's too early to discuss his contract status, two young players who recently signed huge contract extensions could help set the standard for Maxi's market value.
The Miami Heat signed a four-year guaranteed $120 million extension with Taylor Hiro in early October, plus an unlikely $10 million incentive clause, and based on current projections for a $134 million salary cap for the 2023-24 season, Hiro could theoretically sign a four-year, $150.1 million maximum salary contract, so his contract extension is about $30 million less than the top salary.
Hiro played at the best of his career last season, averaging a career-high 20.7 points, five rebounds and four assists while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 2.7 three-pointers per game, 39.9 percent from three-point range, and won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Although he came off the bench in all but 10 regular-season games, he tied for third on the team behind Bam Adebayo for playing time behind Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, and he is expected to partner with Lowry in the new season as the Heat's new starting backcourt combination.
Over the weekend, the Golden State Warriors signed Jordan Poole to a four-year, guaranteed $123 million contract extension, plus $17 million in incentive clauses (of which $12 million is almost impossible). Poole could theoretically get the same maximum salary contract as Hiro ($150.1 million), but if he could honor all the incentive clauses in the contract, he would only get about $10 million less than the top salary.
Poole started most of last season in place of the injured Klay Thompson, averaging 18.5 points, four assists and 3.4 rebounds in just 30 minutes of regular season and 2.8 three-pointers per game, all career highs. Poole was also a key figure in the Warriors' NBA championship last season, averaging 17 points per game in the playoffs while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range.
In contrast, Maxey performed far better in his sophomore season than Hiro and Poole, replacing Ben Simmons in the starting lineup and averaging 17.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game, while averaging 1.8 three-pointers per game, while shooting 48.5 percent overall and 42.7 percent from three-point range. And after the 76ers traded James Harden in February, Maxi's overall shooting percentage of 52.3 percent and 48 percent from three-point range were already ridiculously high, and all signs of this year's preseason are that Maxi may take another step in the new season.
Maxi said in a recent interview: "This year's training camp is very important for me because it is my first team training camp and I know my role in the team. In the first year of my career, I was a rookie and I didn't know what to expect, but now that I'm in my second year, we have a lot to do, I've been pushed into the starting position and I always say I'm going to be ready and whatever coach Doug [Rivers] asks me to do, I'll do it. But this third year, I know exactly what my role is and I know exactly how to help my team win, I have confidence in my work, so I have confidence in myself, and then I have faith in my teammates and they have faith in me. ”
If Maxi does become the 76ers' three-man this year, it should simplify his contract extension negotiations next summer, and the 76ers should definitely give him a contract of up to five years, and even if Maxi doesn't rise to the level of Ja Morant or Darius Garland, the 76ers may consider giving him a long-term contract with a good salary.
The NBA's current nine-year, $24 billion national television deal with Disney and Warner Media Discovery ends in 2024-25, and CNBC reported last March that the league is planning to pursue a TV deal worth up to $75 billion, which would more than triple the value of its current contract. Even if the NBA fails to meet this lofty goal, it is widely believed that the value of the NBA's next round of TV contracts may double, and revenue from national television contracts will enter basketball-related revenue pools and directly determine the annual salary cap, which may cause the ceiling on player pay in 2025-26 and beyond.
The NBA signed its current television contract before the 2016-17 season, which led to a sharp salary increase that season, when the NBA tried to persuade the players' union to accept a proposal to cap salaries, but the players' union rejected, causing the salary cap to soar from $70 million in 2015-16 to $94 million the following year, a historic salary cap increase that also provided enough salary space for the Warriors. They were able to sign Kevin Durant in free agency that summer and truly become a dynasty team.
It's unclear whether the results of the 2016-17 wage cap spike will make the players' union more receptive to a smoother salary cap setting this time, but if the players' union remains unwilling to compromise, The salary cap for the 2025-26 season is expected to skyrocket to $171 million, and the salary cap for 2024-25 is expected to be as high as $145 million, which means that Maxi can get a five-year contract with a starting salary of $36.25 million and a total value of up to $210.3 million from the 76ers. If the 76ers give him another Ross clause, his starting salary would be $43.5 million and the total value of his five-year contract would be $252.3 million. But if Maxi signs a five-year contract extension next summer but doesn't meet Ross' terms, his annual salary for 2025-26 will reach $39.2 million, which is expected to be only 23% of the salary cap that year and down from 25% of the 2024-25 salary cap, and neither reaches the rookie-level top salary level.
While all of these are very rough estimates, it is hoped that by the time negotiations for Maxey's contract extension begin next summer, 76ers management will have a clearer picture of future salary cap projections, and the NBA labor and management are currently working on the next collective bargaining agreement as part of which the league is expected to address smooth salary cap increases and salary cap projections in the 2025-26 season and beyond.
But given the potential for a significant increase in salary caps, Maxi has reason to demand a maximum salary contract from the 76ers next summer, or else he could threaten to try to become a free agent and switch to his team in an environment of skyrocketing new broadcast contract amounts. And once he makes up his mind, he may prefer to sign a two-year, third-year player option or a three-year, fourth-year extension contract, both of which would allow him to be a free agent with seven years of NBA experience, at which point he will be eligible to sign a starting salary of 30% of the salary cap.
Given Maxi's importance to the long-term development of the 76ers, 76ers management should definitely not be hasty or try to undercut prices next summer, and while neither Hiro nor Poole have been offered five-year long contracts from their teams, threatening to sign only short contracts could help Maxi get as much money as possible.