On the day of the NBA trade deadline in February, the Toronto Raptors made a somewhat unexpected move to acquire veteran big man Kelly Olynyk, along with young wing Ochai Agbaji, via a trade with the Utah Jazz. While the Raptors remain in something of a transitional phase, Olynyk has fit in well in Toronto, and word broke from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday evening that the 32-year-old will be sticking around on a two-year contract extension.
Toronto Raptors center Kelly Olynyk has agreed on a two-year, $26.25 million contract extension, Jeff Schwartz of @excelbasketball tells ESPN. Deal is the max that Olynyk was able to extend on. pic.twitter.com/KjFBVsI15u
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 4, 2024
As noted in ESPN’s reporting, the Raptors were limited on how much money they could offer Olynyk on an extension. The most he could sign for would be a five percent raise from his current salary, and Olynyk, who was born and raised in Canada, could add two years to his current deal if he agreed to do so by the end of the league year on June 30.
For the season, Olynyk is averaging 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game with 54.2 percent shooting and 39.8 percent from three-point distance. His efficiency is down in a small sample with Toronto, but Olynyk does open things up on the offensive end with his floor-spacing and passing ability in the frontcourt.
Though Toronto’s forward-facing direction remains a bit unclear as the team battles in the play-in race in the East, this is a solid contractual value for Olynyk. He also pairs well with many kinds of players, even with defensive challenges along the way, and Olynyk was clearly happy enough in his return to Canada to commit there for two more seasons.
