2024 NBA Free Agency: Grading Early Notable Re-Signings and Extensions
Welcome to the 2024 NBA offseason!
This one could be different than years past thanks to certain provisions in the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement. You'll have plenty of time to acquaint yourselves with updated trade rules and the dreaded second apron, but here, we're focused on "pre-agency."
In the past, teams had to wait until free agency opened on June 30 or July 1 to re-sign their own free agents. Now, that period begins one day after the end of the NBA Finals.
So, between now and free agency, expect a lot of news about extensions and re-signings. Here, we'll react to the biggest reports.
Immanuel Quickley Re-signs with the Raptors
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Just a few days shy of free agency, the Toronto Raptors came to terms on a new, long-term deal with Immanuel Quickley:
That number is below the max for Immanuel Quickley, but not as far below as some may have expected. The average annual value of $35 million is around where a max deal would've started, and maybe Toronto is banking on this looking better as the cap goes up under a new media rights deal.
However you look at it, it's a lot of money, but Quickley did finish the season pretty strong for the Raptors, and he's a good theoretical fit with Scottie Barnes. In his 38 appearances for Toronto, Quickley averaged 18.6 points and 6.8 assists, while shooting 39.5 percent from deep.
The shooting is the most important indicator for working with Barnes, but Quickley being something of a combo guard helps too. Going forward, Barnes will have the ball in his hands a lot, so having guards who can operate without it is important. Quickley checks that box, too.
And though he probably wouldn't be classified as a lockdown defender, his effort and a 6'8" wingspan make Quickley passable on that end.
Grade: B
OG Anunoby Re-Signs with the Knicks
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A day after swinging for the fences on a deal that landed them Mikal Bridges, the New York Knicks re-signed OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million deal.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was first with the news of a contract that sounds like a lot, but that total is actually a little less than the max Anunoby could've signed.
And though the Knicks really don't have any wiggle room left (with Isaiah Hartenstein and Alec Burks yet to be re-signed), it's not hard to see why New York did this.
This roster now has a superstar leading the way in Jalen Brunson, and he's surrounded by tons of defense, versatility and toughness with Anunoby, Bridges, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.
Anunoby, specifically, had a positive raw plus-minus in all 23 of his regular-season appearances for the Knicks. He'll ably take on opponents' best offensive players. And he's one of the most reliable corner three-point shooters in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics are still pretty obvious favorites in the East, but New York seems to be following a blueprint for at least frustrating them.
Grade: B+
Nic Claxton Re-Signs with the Nets
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On Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets made a pair of moves suggesting 2024-25 could be a tank year.
First, they moved Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for a massive haul of picks. Then, they regained control of their own 2025 first-round pick through a picks-only deal with the Houston Rockets.
Re-signing Nic Claxton, which they did for four years and $100 million Wednesday, might seem like something of a departure from that path, but it doesn't have to be.
Brooklyn will likely be pretty bad even with Claxton on the roster, but that average annual salary makes his deal very movable, too.
He could traded for more rebuild-ready assets before February's trade deadline.
Grade: B+
Scottie Barnes Extends with the Raptors
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On Monday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Toronto Raptors had signed All-Star forward Scottie Barnes to a five-year extension worth up to $270 million.
And as much money as that is, it's just sort of the cost of doing business in the NBA these days. When your first-round pick makes an All-Star team before his rookie contract is over, you almost have to sign him to a max to prevent him from signing elsewhere.
If Barnes was lost to free agency, there just aren't many options to replace him (most teams operate over the salary cap from year to year).
And in Barnes' case, there are plenty of numbers to justify the payday.
Barnes won Rookie of the Year in 2021-22 and then averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks over the last two seasons.
Over the same stretch, the Raptors were plus-0.3 points per 100 possessions with Barnes on the floor and minus-5.9 when he was off.
Point forwards who stand 6'7", put up that kind of production before turning 23 and defend all over the floor don't come around often. Toronto had to secure him long-term.
Still, this isn't a true no-brainer. Over the years, a lot of the players about whom we've said, "just imagine if he could shoot" never really figured out how to shoot. And Barnes has been below average in both effective field-goal percentage and true shooting percentage in each of his three seasons.
There was some progress from three in 2023-24, but it's still an area of his game he'll need to focus on going forward.
Grade: B+
Pascal Siakam Re-Signs with the Pacers
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The terms: Four-year, $189.5 million deal with Indiana Pacers (via ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski)
Pascal Siakam re-signing with the Indiana Pacers felt like an inevitability from the moment they acquired him ahead of this past season's trade deadline. It's now the first notable re-signing of this new "pre-agency" period.
Siakam will be Tyrese Haliburton's running mate for the foreseeable future, and the duo already has a track record to tout.
In the regular season, Indiana was plus-2.7 points per 100 possessions when both were on the floor. The duo then led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in the playoffs. During that 17-game postseason run, Siakam averaged 21.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
Having a consistent 20-point-per-game scorer for Haliburton to distribute to will be huge, but the bigger draw here might be Siakam's defensive and positional versatility. He's never made an All-Defense team, but he can defend multiple positions and even has the ability to play the 5 at times.
With him in place and some development hopefully on the way for young players such as Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker, the Pacers' trajectory should be pointed directly up.
Still, even with the cap set to keep rising with the new TV deal on the way, close to $50 million a year for a player aging into his 30s does come with some risk.
The 2023-24 campaign was just the second of his career with an above-average true shooting percentage. And he's never finished a season in the top 20 in box plus/minus.
Grade: B+
Malik Monk Re-Signs with the Kings
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Because of the collective bargaining agreement, the Sacramento Kings were limited in what they could offer Malik Monk to re-sign him.
And after he averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 assists and 2.1 threes in just 26.0 minutes off the bench, it felt like a cap space team might be willing to give him more than the four years and $78 million the Kings could.
But according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Monk is headed back to Sacramento for that very amount. And that's a huge win for the Kings.
Monk was third on the team in wins over replacement player this season. Despite being listed as a shooting guard, he essentially functioned as the backup point. And the offense hummed a little more efficiently when he was on the floor.
All of that for a player taking up somewhere between 10 to 15 percent of next season's cap is a borderline steal.
Grade: A
Gary Payton II Opts in with the Warriors
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Gary Payton II could've been a free agent this summer, but he decided to pick up his $9.1 million player option instead. And that means the Golden State Warriors will have one of the game's best and most versatile perimeter defenders for just over five percent of next season's salary cap.
That's a steal, even with Payton's struggles with durability.
He's played a total of 66 games over the last two seasons, but Payton was an integral piece of the Warriors' second in 2022, when they won the title.
If he keeps shooting the way he has since he first joined the Warriors in 2020-21 (he's at 38.0 percent from deep since then) and can stay relatively healthy, this is a big win for Golden State (unless the front office is desperate to duck the luxury tax or second apron).
Grade: B+
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