Being able to keep your core together is one of the most important things every single GM needs to address looking ahead to the future, as constant rebuilding may take you nowhere in this league.
When teams struggle or players think they’ve outgrown their current town, those guys always make sure everybody knows their intentions to leave. Gladly, it also happens the other way, with players constantly stating that they want to stay put.
Even if it’s still quite early in the season to start talking about the upcoming offseason, we have enough evidence to let you know about these 5 players that are definitely going to stay with their teams.
5. Jonas Valanciunas – Player Option
Jonas Valanciunas was involved in a lot of trade rumors this past season and he’s shifted to a substitute role this year, but even so, he’s really thrived off the bench and played starters minutes for the new look Raptors.
Valanciunas isn’t as dominant as a guy his size and that strong should be, but he’s found a home in Toronto and knows he’s not going to have such a long leash elsewhere, so he’s definitely going to opt in on the last year of his deal.
4. Al Horford – Player Option
Al Horford has been terrific for the Boston Celtics and he looks pretty much tailor-made for Brad Stevens’ system, being a versatile big man that can create his own shot, set his teammates up and even hit three-pointers.
Horford has a player option on the last year of his deal and he’s likely to take it, as he knows his biggest shot at an NBA Championship comes with Boston, let alone the fact that he’s quickly become a fan favorite at the Garden.
3. DeAndre Jordan – Unrestricted Free Agent
Following the Emoji fiasco several seasons ago, the Dallas Mavericks finally landed DeAndre Jordan as their starting big man, and even though the team is leaning towards going younger, they’re definitely expected to offer him a nice deal next season.
Jordan looks quite comfortable with the Mavericks and he knows this one is his last chance to get a very lucrative deal, so staying put at Dallas would make sense for every party involved in the deal.
2. Kristaps Porzingis – Restricted Free Agent
The Knicks and Kristaps Porzingis are a match made in heaven. The Unicorn is set to continue being the Knicks franchise player for many years to come and he’s also going to be a huge recruiting factor next season as one of the most promising young talents in the league.
This one’s a huge no-brainer, as everybody knows New York is bound to offer Kristaps a near-max deal to keep him on board for many more years, and he’s not going to hesitate to take that cash.
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1. Kyrie Irving – Player Option
Despite all speculation surrounding Kyrie’s future and the fact that he supposedly wanted to team up with Jimmy Butler in New York or Brooklyn to take down the East, he’s already committed to extending his contract with the Boston Celtics.
As a matter of fact, reports even state that Kyrie Irving has been aggressively recruiting Anthony Davis to make him force a trade and join the Celtics, so you know he’s not going anywhere any time soon.
