Hypothesis started to develop on Friday that San Antonio Spurs celebrity Victor Wembanyama could be keen to take a reduced contract to assist in giving the staff additional monetary flexibility to construct a winner round him.
That’s what he ended up doing, even when it nonetheless ends in him getting a $252 million extension over 5 years.
Victor Wembanyama’s contract extension nonetheless helps Spurs even when it’s a rookie max deal
In response to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Friday, Wembanyama’s deal is a maximum rookie-scale contract extension that features a participant possibility within the fifth 12 months.
Whereas it could be onerous to wrestle with the thought of a $252 million max contract being some form of a favor to the Spurs, it type of is.
Doubtlessly a major one.
In response to Charania’s report, Wembanyama may have taken the 30% supermax escalators in his contract, probably pushing its whole worth to $303 million. He as an alternative opted to take the 25% most.
It’s the third-largest rookie extension in NBA historical past, trailing the matching $269 million contracts signed by Cade Cunningham with the Detroit Pistons and Evan Mobley with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The contract additionally helps the Spurs keep away from the luxurious tax over the following two seasons, and so they may nonetheless delay the tax clock by buying and selling De’Aaron Fox earlier than then.
