The Class of 2016 got paid handsomely on Monday as the contract extension deadline saw a number of players ink deals to stay with their current teams.
The most surprising of those was Domantas Sabonis, who had voiced his frustrations with negotiations last week and the two sides seemed ever further apart than Buddy Hield and the Kings — who got an incentive laden deal done earlier in the day. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Sabonis and the Pacers came together and agreed on a four-year deal, although there are discrepancies between he and Woj as to how much the deal is worth.
Clarification: Domas Sabonis-Pacers deal is $74.9M. Pacers made it a priority to keep Sabonis — and got it done. https://t.co/9iDWyumNPQ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 21, 2019
Sabonis has a chance to make as much as $85M with bonuses in deal, agent Greg Lawrence tells ESPN. https://t.co/IVnp3DSnD4
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 21, 2019
The deal is worth somewhere between $75-85 million, that much is for sure. In any case, it is fascinating that the two sides were able to reach an extension agreement, given the questions that exist about Sabonis’ ability to play alongside Myles Turner, who Indiana inked to a big extension last summer. They seem to believe they can make that duo coexist or, at the least, want to keep their options open toward moving Sabonis and having him on a long-term deal makes him a better trade asset.
Whatever the case, with Sabonis, Hield, Jaylen Brown, and Pascal Siakam all signing extensions, the 2020 free agent class is becoming ever smaller and for those teams with significant cap space, the options for spending that are dwindling.
