Restricted free agency has become an absolute mess in the NBA. Players have zero leverage, and their teams use it against them until both sides are completely at odds, often leading to an ugly split. Things have only gotten worse in recent years, and just looking around the league, we’re seeing ugly situations play out with Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson, and Bennedict Mathurin.
These are good players with value, but the Pistons, Nuggets, and Clippers are squeezing them for every last drop. It may end up with these guys playing out a year on the qualifying offer just to hit free agency, or signing a short-term deal in hopes of being traded, similar to what we saw play out with Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors last year.
And while this may look like shrewd business by the teams, it’s really not. It’s damaging the relationship with the player, often beyond repair, and zapping their future trade value in the process by making it clear the player doesn’t want to be there anymore and isn’t happy with their contract.
Is there a world where the Pistons and Duren reach a deal and end up happily ever after? Sure. But it seems much more likely that he’s completely disengaged and wants out of Detroit as soon as possible by any means necessary. That’s no way to handle a good young player, and luckily, this is something the Celtics have been able to avoid in recent years.
Brad Stevens is as good as anyone in the league at getting his own players extended and reaching a fair deal that keeps his homegrown talent on team-friendly deals. He gets to the negotiating table quickly and doesn’t let things linger to the point where it gets ugly or reaches restricted free agency.
Brad Stevens a master at contract extensions
He has gotten rookie deals done across the board that allow players to continue developing in Boston on reasonable salaries, but are also tradeable the minute they become expendable. And if there is no extension in sight, he has been sure to get out front and trade players away while they still have value on their rookie deals, before things could even possibly get ugly.
He sold high on Romeo Langford (Derrick White deal) and Aaron Nesmith (Malcolm Brogdon deal that led to Jrue Holiday deal), and those were both huge wins. But he has also taken care of young players the team likes, extending Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard early and doing the same with Neemias Queta, Ron Harper Jr., and Jordan Walsh this summer.
Maybe those won’t all be long-term pieces of the core of the team, but the option is there if they keep improving, and they can easily be included in a deal at any time. What won’t happen is good young players reaching the end of their rookie contracts with no new deal in place. There won’t be awkward stalemates that lead to bad feelings. And there won’t be forced trades under duress.
Everyone is focused on the one big move Stevens made this summer, trading away Jaylen Brown. I understand that one is going to take a while for some fans, but look at his body of work and look at what other teams around the league are going through, and maybe give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s got things under control.
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