Coby White is reportedly looking for upwards of $30 million a year on his next contract, a number that could be a preview of what the Detroit Pistons face with Jaden Ivey.
Ivey is extension eligible this summer but there has been no movement toward a new contract, at least publicly. Ivey missed most of last season with an injury and the Pistons may be more comfortable letting him play out the last year of his rookie deal and enter restricted free agency.
They have until the beginning of next season to offer him an extension and there are pros and cons to doing so. Locking Ivey into an extension now may end up being cheaper, as he’s coming off a lost season and doesn’t have much leverage in negotiations, considering the team made the playoffs without him.
If he blows up next season, he’s likely to get a bigger deal in restricted free agency where there will potentially be a few teams with cap space willing to make offers the Pistons would have to match.
The Pistons may end up regretting it if they don’t extend Ivey now, especially if some of his peers are able to cash in with big contracts Ivey’s agent will point to as a baseline for his next deal.
Jaden Ivey and Coby White are test cases for the new CBA
Coby White is entering the final year of what was a team-friendly contract for the Bulls that he definitely outplayed.
The deal was almost too good, as the Bulls were unable to extend White off if it and will now either have to trade him or allow him to hit unrestricted free agency. White has all of the leverage here and isn’t going to be giving any discounts this time around.
But how much is a player like White really worth? Like Ivey, he’s a combo guard who is more of a scorer than a facilitator. Both have defensive limitations, but will provide scoring, some playmaking and rebounding.
White is not a star, and you can’t build a contender around him, but he’s very good, the kind of complementary player you could envision being the third or fourth-best guy on a title team.
Ivey is two years younger and has a higher ceiling, especially if the efficient 3-point shooting we saw in limited action last season is sustainable.
This is likely why he has not yet been offered an extension, as teams have to be judicious when giving out max and near-max deals, as the wrong one can tank the cap sheet under the new tax rules and the Pistons just haven't seen enough yet.
Ivey and White are good test cases for how NBA teams are going to deal with these types of near-stars in this more restrictive tax system.
Ivey could ease this concern by breaking out and becoming a full-fledged star the Pistons can envision building around, but if he doesn’t, it’s questionable whether he or White are worth that kind of investment of cap space.