The Sacramento Kings raised some eyebrows yesterday when it was reported they had signed forward Keegan Murray to a 5 year/$140 million contract extension that may have set the market for Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren.
I mean, anytime you can lock up the 4th option on a mediocre team for nearly $30 million a year you have to do it. At least if you are the Kings. This seems like a wild overpay for a guy who took a step back last year and put up pedestrian numbers on a team with a losing record.
No one knows what the Kings are doing and they arguably have the strangest roster in the league after recently adding Russell Westbrook.
The Kings are banking that Murray returns to the guy we saw his rookie season when he averaged over 15 a game on efficient shooting splits but if that guy doesn’t come back, they are paying a premium cost for average production, something the Detroit Pistons need to avoid.
Pistons need to ignore the market the Kings just destroyed
Who knows, this could look brilliant in a few years if Murray improves, as the salary cap is just going to keep going up and we need to get used to these numbers being the norm.
But that’s going to be a tough task considering he’s sharing the ball with Dennis Schroder, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis, none of whom are the type of passers known for setting up spot shooters like Murray. But that’s for the Kings to figure out.
The Pistons can’t let this deal pressure them into making similar offers to Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey, who like Murray, are still unproven and may not be worth that type of investment until they are.
I came up with extension numbers for Ivey and Duren that the Pistons would likely be happy with, but they are a far cry from what Murray just got and both players are arguably better.
The Pistons only have a few days before the extension deadline passes, so they don’t have long to make this decision and it is increasingly looking like they are happy letting these two enter the season on expiring deals to become restricted free agents.
If both guys earn the kind of extension that Murray just got, great, but if they don’t, the Pistons may save themselves by not committing early.