The San Antonio Spurs will have to navigate multiple expensive rookie contracts in the coming seasons, and they were just offered a blueprint on how to do it.
The San Antonio Spurs made the single best move of the NBA offseason, signing Victor Wembanyama to a five-year, $252 million rookie contract extension.
Had he insisted upon the supermax, the Spurs would have owed him over $300 million over five seasons, severely restricting their financial flexibility in coming seasons.
While Wembanyama would have been worth every penny, his taking less than the supermax gives the Spurs some breathing room. Between De'Aaron Fox's maximum contract and the inevitable expensive extensions for Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, the Spurs will have to pinch pennies, but they should be able to keep the young core intact.
The Utah Jazz just offered them a glimpse of how they can go about doing it.
Utah Jazz Lay Free Agency Blueprint for Spurs
On Friday, Keyonte George and the Utah Jazz agreed to a five-year, $157.5 million rookie extension. George was drafted 16th overall in 2023 and just had a breakout year. He averaged 23.6 points and 6.1 assists per game on acareer-high shooting efficiency. He was so good last season, in fact, that the Jazz had to bench him at times during their tanking effort.
The Spurs should take a page from Utah's book.
Both Castle and Harper are expected to command more than $157 million in their negotiations. Then again, so was George. He's one of the best young guards in the NBA and, between Ace Bailey and Darryn Peterson, is a core member of the Jazz.
Utah is well behind the Spurs, probably three seasons away from really competing, but they're certainly on the rise. Much like the Spurs, they need to sign savvy deals and pinch pennies.
Between Bailey and Peterson, George will likely be the Jazz's third young star when they emerge on the other end. In San Antonio, Castle probably holds that role. Rather than signing him to anything close to the maximum, the Spurs could follow the Jazz's blueprint. Winning players, as we've seen, are inclined to take less.
If Castle were to take a similar deal to George, the Spurs would still have to trade away Fox before extending Harper. That's pretty much an inevitability. Such a contract would allow the Spurs to field a solid supporting cast, eventually extending guys like Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, and Carter Bryant.
