NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Victor Oladipo, Rudy Gobert and More
On the eve of Halloween, the NBA rumor mill is usually crowded with rumblings on the players who are up for their first extensions.
We're talking about the first-round picks who are about to start their fourth and final seasons on their rookie deals.
The deadline to extend such contracts is October 31, so plenty of teams are working with their up-and-comers in an effort to secure them beyond this first deal.
The Thunder Negotiating with a Pair of Starters
Following the departure of Kevin Durant this past summer, the Oklahoma City Thunder are building something new. Along with Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo and Steven Adams may be the cornerstones of that new building.
The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that OKC is currently negotiating with both:
A deal in the neighborhood of $100 million would put Adams just ahead of Hassan Whiteside ($98 million) and just behind Al Horford ($113 million).
Both outperformed Adams last season:
| Steven Adams | 2015-16 | 15.5 | 0.621 | 14.4 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 0.155 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Al Horford | 2015-16 | 19.4 | 0.565 | 12.4 | 16.7 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 0.172 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Hassan Whiteside | 2015-16 | 25.7 | 0.629 | 23.1 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 9.7 | 0.233 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
However, at 23 years old, Adams is the youngest of that bunch and has shown some promise. If OKC doesn't pony up, someone else will.
Oladipo, meanwhile, would be right around the $85 million deal Evan Fournier signed if Wojnarowski's report comes to fruition.
Fournier has been the more consistent scorer and shooter of the two, but Oladipo has the edge as a defender and playmaker.
Mason Plumlee to Hit Restricted Free Agency?
One player who does not appear on track to get an extension before the deadline is Portland Trail Blazers center Mason Plumlee.
CSN Northwest's Jason Quick reported:
Not extending a player in Plumlee's situation could mean a few things: The two sides could simply be at an impasse over contract terms, the Blazers may not want to keep him past this season or they could be eyeing cap space.
If Plumlee is signed now, Portland will have less money to go after free agents. If they sign him to a deal after adding free agents next summer, they can go over the cap by using Plumlee's Bird rights.
Rudy Gobert Continues to Negotiate with Jazz
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is in a situation similar to Plumlee's. The Jazz will have significantly more cap space next summer if they wait to sign him, but they could also be at the mercy of another team.
If Gobert isn't extended now, he'll be a restricted free agent, meaning some team will probably throw him a max offer just to make Utah match.
Signing him now would cost the Jazz cap space but could also require a sacrifice from Gobert, who would take himself off the open market.
Both sides need to answer all these questions, and Wojnarowski reports that they're working on it:
Since the start of the 2013-14 season (Gobert's first), Gobert is third among Jazz players in Win Shares, second in Value Over Replacement Player and first in Box Plus/Minus, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
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