Projecting Upcoming Contract Situations: Current Extension-Eligible Players - Part 3
In the third part of this series, we preview 11 players from the Knicks, Hornets, Hawks, Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, and Raptors who are extension-eligible through June 30, 2026.
The 2025-26 regular season is now roughly 75 percent complete, which means it’s time to start projecting players with upcoming contractual situations. Third Apron will be analyzing the most significant upcoming player negotiations over the next few months. We’ll also be touching on players whose contract situations may not matter in the grand scheme of things. Over 100 players will be previewed.
There is still much basketball to be played, and some players could still impact their value in a deep playoff run. But not everyone makes the playoffs, and the competitive portion of the season is over for many teams. So there’s probably a big enough sample size to start his project now.
The first few posts will be dedicated to players who are currently extension-eligible since they can extend at any moment. Players become extension-eligible on the second anniversary of a contract spanning three or four years, or the third anniversary of a contract spanning five or six years.
Such players are extension-eligible through June 30 because they are in the final year of their contract, or have an option that can be declined for free agency. Players with pending options must decline their options if they want to extend their contracts between now and June 30.
More from this series: Current Extension Eligible Players Part 1 | Current Extension Eligible Players Part 2 | Current Extension Eligible Players Part 4
Mitchell Robinson | Coby White | CJ McCollum | Mouhamed Gueye | Gabe Vincent | Ayo Dosunmu | Julian Phillips | John Collins | Bogdan Bogdanovic | Zach LaVine | Trayce Jackson-Davis
Mitchell Robinson (New York Knicks)
There are times the Knicks could’ve moved on from Mitchell Robinson over the past few years due to his unavailability. He was already injury-prone in his previous contract, but he’s played even fewer games in his current one, including a combined 48 games between 2023 and 2025. Perhaps he’s finally turned a corner, having matched that total earlier this week with 16 games remaining in the season.
Thankfully, the Knicks stuck with him through the injuries. When he plays, he’s an elite rim protector and one of the best offensive rebounders in the league. He still lacks an offensive touch other than being a great rim finisher, but he offsets it with his strengths being in the top percentile in the league. They need these qualities despite him coming off the bench behind Karl-Anthony Towns.
Robinson is currently in the final year of a four-year, $60 million contract he signed, which started at $17 million and decreased to $12.9 million. He may not have met the value of his contract across regular seasons, but he did with contributions in the playoffs. This contract ended up working out perfectly for his per-minute impact and helping the Knicks navigate roster changes over the years.
His current contract, which averaged 11 percent of the salary cap annually, could be the template for his next one. However, constructing the right contract may need to come in free agency.
Robinson is currently extension-eligible through June 30 for up to four years, $87 million. The range is consistent with the current contract with an average of 12 percent of the cap, and similar to what Wendell Carter and Ivica Zubac are earning. With the rate at which the salary cap is rising, it would be low enough in the long run that he could remain a reserve.
The Knicks could look to wait until the offseason to re-sign Robinson for a couple of reasons. The first is the potential pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Acquiring him in either the current salary cap year or in the next one would hard cap them to the 2026-27 second apron by virtue of aggregating multiple players to 100 percent match his salary. Extending or re-signing Robinson to a high salary that takes them above the second apron would handicap them from trading for Antetokounmpo.
The other aspect is that the Knicks are more likely to come up with a descending or flat contract structure through free agency. An extension caps his 2025-26 starting salary to $19.4 million, which would bring the total value of his contract well below $80 million or more. But in free agency, the Knicks could start him at a higher number. That four-year, $87 million total he could get in an extension could start as high as $24.7 million and finish at $18.8 million through his Bird rights.
Robinson’s situation will be one of the more fascinating ones to follow this offseason. A strong playoff performance could spark interest from rival teams to make him an offer that makes the Knicks uncomfortable amid a potential Giannis pursuit.
