2020 Draft Class Rookie Scale Extension Updates and Predictions

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertJune 05, 2023
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The 2020 NBA Draft class is eligible to sign Rookie Scale contract extensions this offseason. Each player has until late-October to agree to an extension. If no agreement is reached, the player will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2024. A handful of players are ineligible to sign an extension, because they had team options declined or were waived at some point during their rookie scale contract.

By pick from that 2020 Draft, here’s where things stand for each player. We’ll make a prediction on what happens before the late-October extension deadline.

For reference: The standard maximum extension (25% of the cap) these players can sign projects to be $207,350,000 over five years. The Designated Rookie Extension amount (30% of the cap) projects to be $248,820,000 over five years. We’re projecting this off a salary cap of $143 million for the 2024-25 season.

In order to qualify for the Designated Rookie Extension, a player must make All-NBA this coming season, or they can also qualify by winning MVP or Defensive Player of the Year this coming season.

#1 Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

Edwards has blossomed into exactly the kind of star you hope to draft first overall. He’s a scoring machine, an improving rebounder and playmaker and he’s getting more efficient. The Wolves are going to have to no choice but to give him a max extension. It’s also likely Edwards will get the Designated Rookie language that could bump him to 30% of the cap too.

Prediction: Five years, $207,350,000 (25% of the cap), no options; Designated Rookie language to bump the extension to five years, $248,820,000, no options

#2 James Wiseman, Detroit Pistons

Wiseman finally found his footing in Detroit after two injury-plagued and inconsistent seasons with the Golden State Warriors. The offensive talent is evident, but the defense needs a lot of work. Given the Pistons also have Jalen Duren at the center spot, this battle royale will extend until next summer. 

Prediction: No extension

#3 LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets 

Ball is the Hornets best player. He’s easily the best thing the woebegone franchise has going for them. He’s an All-Star talent and the kind of guy other players want to play with. Charlotte can’t mess this up by getting cheap. Full max, with the Designated Rookie language should be the play here.

Prediction: Five years, $207,350,000 (25% of the cap), no options; Designated Rookie language to bump the extension to five years, $248,820,000, no options

#4 Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls

Williams has become one of the most underrated players from this class. He’s a good shooter, has shown improvement every season and he’s been durable in two of his three seasons. The Bulls roster and cap sheet are in a bit of a weird place, but they can’t let Williams leave because of that. The new CBA allowing for non-max rookie scale extensions to cover five years could come into play here.

Prediction: Five years, $100,000,000, no options 

#5 Isaac Okoro, Cleveland Cavaliers

Okoro showed real improvement in his third season, and yet it seems like the Cavs still did everything they could to try and replace him with worse-fitting options. Cleveland also has an increasing payroll and Okoro is probably more of a two than a three, and the backcourt spots are spoken for. That seems like a sign that no extension is coming.

Prediction: No extension

#6 Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks

Normally, we’d say the Hawks should lock up Okongwu. But this team has so much long-term salary already committed for a middle-of-the-pack roster. Because of that, Atlanta may need to rebalance the roster a bit before taking care of Okongwu. That means this probably goes to restricted free agency in 2024.

Prediction: No extension

#7 Killian Hayes, Detroit Pistons

An extension for Hayes would have to be so incredibly team-friendly that he’s best to bet on himself putting it all together ahead of restricted free agency in 2024. The good news? There are some signs. Just not enough to get an extension.

Prediction: No extension

#8 Obi Toppin, New York Knicks

Toppin’s career has been spent as a low-minutes backup behind Julius Randle. There’s very much still a mystery box quality to his game. He’s flashed when given time, but those flashes aren’t extension-worthy…unless he’s traded ahead of the extension deadline. 

Prediction: No extension, unless he’s traded. Then, 4 years, $70,000,000 - seems like a worthy gamble as an upside bet.

#9 Deni Avdija, Washington Wizards

If Avdija could shoot, he’d be a lock for at least an $80 million extension. But he can’t shoot and doesn’t seem to be improving in that phase of the game either. The Wizards have a complicated summer with some key free agents and a new front office making the decisions. They’ll delay this one until restricted free agency in 2024. 

Prediction: No extension.

#10 Jalen Smith, Indiana Pacers 

Smith had his third- and fourth-year options declined by the Phoenix Suns. He was traded to Indiana during the 2021-22 season. Smith then signed a three-year, $15.1 million with the Pacers in the summer of 2022.

#11 Devin Vassell, San Antonio Spurs

Vassell suffered through an injury-plagued third season, but he improved nearly across the board. The Spurs locked up Keldon Johnson to a value deal last summer and will look to do the same with Vassell. This is another one where the five-year allowance for non-max deals in the CBA could be big.

Prediction: Five years, $115,000,000, no options 

#12 Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

Haliburton is a bona fide star. He’s the Pacers franchise player. He’s every bit as good as LaMelo Ball as young, star point guards. That’ll get him paid, and probably on a deal that includes Designated Rookie language too.

Prediction: Five years, $207,350,000 (25% of the cap), no options; Designated Rookie language to bump the extension to Five years, $248,820,000, no options

#13 Kira Lewis Jr., New Orleans Pelicans

Lewis has suffered through injuries in his first three seasons and has only appeared in 103 regular season games for the Pels. That’s not enough to extend him, and the guard rotation is pretty stuffed in New Orleans too.

Prediction: No extension

#14 Aaron Nesmith, Indiana Pacers

Nesmith turned in his first healthy season and he played well for the Pacers. He showed some signs of becoming that knockdown shooter he was supposed to be coming out of college. But the Pacers are going to commit big money to Tyrese Haliburton, after extending Myles Turner last summer. And they’ll probably spend some dough in free agency too. That doesn’t leave room to extend Nesmith. 

Prediction: No extension

#15 Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic

Anthony has adapted well to the third-guard role for the Magic. He was solid coming off the bench. But that caps how much you can pay him, especially in a backcourt that features some other talented players too. Unless it’s a team-friendly deal, Orlando probably lets this carry over to the summer of 2024. That could benefit Anthony too, as his market could expand. 

Prediction: No extension

#16 Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons

The Pistons frontcourt is crowded. Isaiah Stewart might be the best of the young bunch, but he probably also has the least upside. His best role seems like it’ll be as an energy big for 20-25 minutes a night on a good team. That’s not something you generally extend a guy for, unless it’s team-friendly. Stewart is better off betting on himself. 

Prediction: No extension

#17 Aleksej Pokusevski, Oklahoma City Thunder 

Pokusevski was figuring this out in his third season and making real progress. Then a fracture in his leg sidelined him for a large chunk of the second half of the season. There won’t be an extension, because the big man will have to show he’s part of the long-term future this upcoming season.

Prediction: No extension

#18 Josh Green, Dallas Mavericks 

Green started to show some stuff during his second season. In his third year, Green became the Mavs best all-around wing. This is probably going to be a value extension that might catch some off guard.

Prediction: Four years, $70,000,000

#19 Saddiq Bey, Atlanta Hawks 

Bey is in a weird spot. The Hawks have a very full roster and a lot of long-term salary on the books. Bey also plays the same position as De’Andre Hunter (already extended) and Jalen Johnson (a year behind on his rookie deal). That probably takes an extension off the board. But re-signing Bey in restricted free agency, depending on how the roster ultimately shakes out, should be on the table. 

Prediction: No extension

#20 Precious Achiuwa, Toronto Raptors

Had Achiuwa’s three-point shooting stayed level, he’d have been a really good extension candidate. But it fell way off, and the Raptors are a team in transition. They’ll probably hold off on signing Achiuwa until they pick a direction with the roster. 

Prediction: No extension

#21 Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

Maxey has become one of the best scoring guards in the league and he’s done it quickly. He can score both on- and off-ball, which is huge for lineup versatility. He’s easily worth the 25% max, given where the Sixers roster is at and where the cap is heading.

Prediction: Five years, $207,350,000 (25% of the cap), no options

#22 Zeke Nnaji, Denver Nuggets 

Nnaji is a good player, but he hasn’t been able to keep a rotation role with the Nuggets. He’ll probably have another chance, as the Nuggets backup bigs will cycle this summer. But that’s not enough to get him extended.

Prediction: No extension.

#23 Leandro Bolmaro, out of the NBA 

Bolmaro is out of the NBA after two non-descript seasons. He returned to Spain after a midseason waiver from the Utah Jazz. Bolmaro also signed a year late, so he would haven’t been extension-eligible anyway.

#24 R.J. Hampton, Detroit Pistons 

Hampton was waived by the Orlando Magic before finishing the season with the Pistons. He’s got a non-guaranteed contract for next season with Detroit. Hampton also had his fourth-year option declined, which would have rendered him unable to extend, had he stayed with Orlando.

#25 Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks

Quickley is a really fun player. He’s a scoring machine and a solid defender. He’d probably start for a handful of teams around the NBA. The challenge with the Knicks is that starting him and Jalen Brunson would be a tiny backcourt. That keeps Quickley in a bench role, and that limits his upside contract-wise. But the Knicks would do well to get him signed long-term. Something bridging his current role with his potential makes sense, as New York loves to add incentives into their contracts. 

Prediction: Four years, $84,000,000 with incentives that could bring it up to $90,000,000, no options

#26 Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics 

Pritchard can play, but he got squeezed out in a deep Boston backcourt. He won’t extend unless it’s an overpay, because Pritchard wants to play. And the Celtics aren’t in a spot of overpay anyone, given where their salaries are headed.

Prediction: No extension

#27 Udoka Azubuike, Utah Jazz

Azubuike had his fourth-year team option declined by the Jazz. Given the presence of Walker Kessler on the roster, it’s likely Azubuike will be playing elsewhere next season.

#28 Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves 

McDaniels is very, very good. He’s arguably the best defender of this entire draft class. And he’s a much-improved offensive player. He’s also an ideal big wing to pair with Anthony Edwards long-term. That’s going to get him paid and paid healthily.

Prediction: Four years, $100,000,000, no options

#29 Malachi Flynn, Toronto Raptors

Flynn has had multiple opportunities to take the Raptors backup point guard spot, but injuries and ineffectiveness have kept it from happening. There won’t be an extension here. 

Prediction: No extension

#30 Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies

Bane is the best shooter in his class. He’s also improved greatly as a playmaker and he’s a solid defender. The Grizzlies are very proactive about locking up their own players. Bane is going to be the next one to get paid and he’s probably going to get a max deal too. 

Prediction: Five years, $207,350,000 (25% of the cap), no options

2019 Draft Class

Chuma Okeke, Orlando Magic

Okeke signed a year late, after being drafted while recovering from a torn ACL. Thus, he’s extension-eligible this summer. The challenge is that Okeke has really slipped from what was a productive rookie season. He hasn’t shot well, and the rest of his game hasn’t developed much either.

Prediction: No extension


#nba #rookie extension #anthony edwards #james wiseman #lamelo ball #patrick williams #isaac okoro #onyeka okongwu #killian hayes #obi toppin #deni avdija #jalen smith #devin vassell #tyrese haliburton #kira lewis jr. #aaron nesmith #cole anthony #isaiah stewart #aleksej pokusevski #josh green #saddiq bey #precious achiuwa #tyrese maxey #zeke nnaji #leandro bolmaro #rj hampton #immanuel quickley #payton pritchard #udoka azubuike #jaden mcdaniels #malachi flynn #desmond bane #chuma okeke
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