There comes a point in every NBA player’s career that they have to bet on themselves. In doing this, they set themselves up for a monumental payday whether that be by extension or otherwise. These 10 NBA players are performing at a level worthy of a significant increase in pay from their current salaries.
These are the type of players that NBA franchises view as game-changers and players they can build around toward an NBA championship. When the 10 players below hit the open market this summer, the offers should come flooding in from their existing teams and suitors from around the league trying to pry them away.
1. Tyrese Maxey
As it stands, 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey is playing under the final season of his rookie deal worth $4.3 million. With talks of an extension stalled until after the season for both sides, Maxey has a statement as far as what his next contract will be this summer.
Through 39 games played in 2023-24, Maxey is playing at an All-Star and borderline All-NBA level. Maxey is averaging 26.2 points and 6.6 assists per game for the 27-13 Sixers this season while shooting 45.2% from the field.
With his play, Maxey has himself set up perfectly for a large pay increase in 2024-25. It is well-known the 76ers would like to retain his services and there is at least one other team that has taken notice of his play in 2023-24, wondering if they have a chance to pry him away from the only team he has ever known with the promise of a big payday in the range of $24-$26 million per year, similar to what the Knicks gave Jalen Brunson in free agency in 2022.
2. Pascal Siakam
You may think the prospect of Pascal Siakam getting a significant increase from his $37.9 million salary in 2023-24 is crazy. However, there are more than a few factors that will go into a significant deal for the free agent forward this summer. Being traded to the Pacers last week also makes things much more interesting.
If Siakam enjoys his time in Indiana, he may be willing to take a slight pay cut to remain with the team and help build their future. This would be a change in direction from seeking a supermax extension that Siakam has reportedly been looking for with the Raptors before the trade.
If Siakam remains in Indiana in 2024-25, it will likely be a pay cut he sees to make it happen. If he hits the open market, there is at least one team that will gamble on the 29-year-old forward who is averaging 22.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game this season on 64.3% shooting. In an open market, it may take $40 million-$45 million to lure him.
3. OG Anunoby
Another former Raptors forward who is making strides with his new team is OG Anunoby. In the final year of his deal making $18.6 million with a $19.9 player option looming, Anunoby has been stellar once again in 2023-24 for the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks.
Likely, Anunoby will decline his player option this summer, looking for a max deal with whichever team will have him. After trading RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and other assets for him, the Knicks are hoping it will be them who retain his services. In 10 games for New York so far, Anunoby is averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.
The Knicks will not be the only team looking to sign Anunoby this summer which will drive his price tag up even more if a bidding war ensues. I expect him to garner a contract worth anywhere from $25 million to $29 million per season if he hits the open market.
4. Malik Monk
Over the last two seasons, there have been few players off the bench making a bigger impact on their team than Malik Monk has made on the Sacramento Kings. With bench depth as important as ever in the NBA, Monk is looking at cashing in this offseason on an increase from the $9.9 million he is making this season.
Of course, the Kings would love to have him back at the right price. However, Monk has been a clutch scorer and playmaker for the Kings, often finding himself on the floor in the game’s most important moments. Through 40 games, Monk is leading the Kings in bench scoring with 15.1 points and 5.5 assists per game on 43.3% shooting.
That type of production from the bench will be worth a huge pay raise for Monk this summer, wherever it may come from. Expect his deal to be in the $12 million to $18 million per season range.
5. Isaiah Hartenstein
At first, a big pay raise for New York’s Isaiah Hartenstein would be a reach but when looking at how his play over the last two months has impacted the Knicks overall, he is playing himself into some decent money. Hartenstein is making $9.2 million in 2023-24 and has been worth so much more to the Knicks through 42 games.
After injuries to Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims, the Knicks turned to Hartenstein as their starter. In the 16 games he has played as the starter, Hartenstein has averaged 7.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. His physicality and tenacity on the defensive side of the ball have triggered a surge by the Knicks with a 10-6 record in those games.
Teams looking for a backup or even a starting big like Hartenstein are going to be willing to spend big for his services as a free agent this summer at around $10 million to $15 million per season.
6. Nic Claxton
Also in the final year of his deal in 2023-24 is athletic Brooklyn big man Nic Claxton. The 2023-24 season is Claxton’s fifth with the Nets and he is making $9.6 million. Claxton has stepped up the last two seasons as a true lockdown paint defender and double-double threat.
In 31 of Brooklyn’s 41 games this season, Claxton has averaged 12.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. Over the last two seasons, Claxton has been one of the best interior defenders in basketball which will help his stock as an unrestricted free agent this summer. However, a history of injuries and missed games could prevent an even bigger payday in the long run.
If Claxton can continue to stay healthy and play at the level he is in 2023-24, I expect him to ink a $12-$18 million per year deal with a team in need of a big.
7. Immanuel Quickley
In 2022-23, Immanuel Quickley was a finalist for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, averaging 14.9 points per game off the bench. This already put him on a trajectory for a larger contract this summer as he made just $2.3 million last season and is making only $4.1 million on a team option in 2023-24.
Knowing that a large extension was coming, the Knicks made a bold move by trading Quickley, along with teammate RJ Barrett, to the Raptors in exchange for another star looking for a big deal this summer, OG Anunoby. Since receiving a larger role from Toronto for the last 11 games, Quickley has secured a larger bag for himself this summer.
In 11 games for Toronto as their starting point guard, Quickley is averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game on 42/7% shooting overall and 45.5% shooting from three. With what he provides as a starter, I expect Quickley to be a tier below Maxey and Brusnon at around $16 million to $20 million per year.
8. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s journey to a bigger deal began during the 2022-23 season. As Denver’s Starting shooting guard for most of the regular season and their playoff run, Caldwell-Pope stepped up on numerous occasions and became an unsung hero of theirs on their way to their first NBA championship in team history.
Making just $14.7 million in 2022-23 with a player option worth $15.1 million looming, Caldwell-Pope would do himself a favor by declining it and becoming a free agent. Denver would love to have him back in an instant but even more important is the fact that 29 other teams have witnessed what he brings to a championship-level team. He is due to break the bank in free agency this summer should he choose that route with a deal worth close to or exceeding $20 million per season.
9. Kelly Oubre Jr.
When the 76ers signed Kelly Oubre Jr. to a one-year, $2 million deal this past summer, most of us saw it as a bargain considering Oubre’s performance everywhere he has been in the past. Oubre clearly took the deal as a tryout of sorts, delivering some clutch performances with the 76ers in the first half of the 2023-24 season.
In 29 appearances with 18 starts for the Sixers in 2023-24, Oubre is averaging 12.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game on 46.6% shooting. Before suffering a freak injury due to an accident with a motor vehicle, Oubre had been averaging 16.3 points per game on 50.0% shooting in his first eight games as a Sixer.
With this kind of production, Oubre has reset the market for himself this summer and will surely see a large increase in his pay as a result. If it is a one-year deal, $8 million or $9 million is not out of the question. On a long-term deal, expect somewhere in the range of $27 million to $36 million for three or four years.
10. Obi Toppin
After being traded from New York to Indiana this summer, Obi Toppin has adjusted beautifully to his change of scenery. In 42 games, 28 as a starter, Toppin is averaging a career-high 11.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 58.6% shooting and 41.4% shooting from three. He has already outplayed his $6.8 million team option he is playing under in 2023-24 and will be looking for more this summer.
Already, I can see Toppin getting a deal above the mid-level exception with even blogger figures a possibility for him this year. He may take a pay cut to stay in Indiana due to his close relationship with his new teammates but the arrival of Pascal Siakam throwing a wrench in their fiscal plans. However, when he does test free agency, there will be plenty of suitors for the soon-to-be 26-year-old forward.
If he is to exceed that mid-level exception mark, Toppin would see a deal worth anywhere from $12 million to $16 million annually.
