Future Veteran Extension-Eligible Players - Part 2: 2026 Contract Projections

In the tenth part of this series, we preview 9 veterans across the league who will become extension-eligible starting in the 2026 offseason.

Apr 09, 2026

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Third Apron’s contract projection series is nearing its conclusion. More than 80 extension-eligible players and potential free agents were analyzed in March. Each received a market evaluation, with his team’s cap situation factored in, to arrive at a potential outcome.

This entry and the next one focus on veterans who will become extension-eligible starting in the 2026 offseason. They are mostly players on expiring contracts or players with a player option before the 2027-28 season. Almost all of them can extend at any point between the start of the offseason and June 30, 2027.

Veterans can extend starting on the second anniversary of a three- or four-year contract or on the third anniversary of a five or six-year contract. Veterans on expiring contracts can add up to four years as long as the new deal does not take them above five total years, including the current season. They can get a starting salary of up to 140 percent of the last year of their current contract or the estimated average salary, whichever is greater.

Any extension with a starting salary above 120 percent of the previous season’s salary, raises above 5 percent in subsequent seasons, and a total length exceeding four years, including the current one, triggers a six-month trade restriction.

Michael Porter Jr. (Brooklyn Nets)

The Michael Porter Jr. trade remains one of the more consequential deals of the 2025 offseason. It was a large price to pay for the Nuggets to significantly boost their rotation this season to create savings that subsidized more depth pieces. However, Porter Jr. has exploded into an All-Star caliber player this season. Depending on how much more he develops, there could be more ripple effects, such as where the 2032 first-round pick ultimately lands.

The Nets will enter the 2027 offseason with 14 first-round picks and 22 second-round picks through the 2033 draft. They are also entering a pivotal offseason in which they need to choose a direction. Do they attempt to make a trade with the Rockets to regain control of their 2027 first-round pick? Or do they hit the accelerator, add more veterans, and make a run at the Play-In Tournament?

The answer to that question may partly rest on what the league decides to do with lottery reform. Flatter odds across the board could push the Nets, a team that was a title contender not too long ago, to be competitive already. If they choose that route next year, having Porter Jr. as one of their top offensive options would help that pivot.

Porter Jr. will be entering the final year of the five-year, $179 million contract he signed with the Nuggets. He will be extension-eligible starting on July 6 and can extend through June 30, 2027. The Nets may shop him one more time to see whether they can get the type of value they received for veterans like Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson.

Whether it is with the Nets or another team, it is time to start looking at what an extension for Porter Jr. could look like. As Third Apron detailed a couple of months ago, he is unlikely to get offers in the five-year, $234 million maximum range. Although Porter Jr. is having a career year, his production is boosted as the first option on one of the worst teams. He would probably be a second or third option on most competitive teams.

Third Apron was too low on its initial valuation of Porter Jr. a few months ago. If he was not meeting the value of his contract before, he finally is now. A four-year extension averaging 25 percent of the salary cap would translate to roughly $194 million over four years starting in the 2027-28 season. Perhaps the Nets or his next team could get him at a lower amount and with fewer years to protect themselves from potential injuries, although he has been fairly durable over the past few seasons.

The Nets could also renegotiate and extend Porter Jr.’s contract. They are projected with roughly $30 million in cap space and could use some of it to bump his $40.8 million salary up to the 30 percent max of roughly $49.5 million. That would allow them to give him smaller cap hits in subsequent years, which could help with team building and raise his trade value. But he would get a six-month trade restriction if he renegotiates and extends.

Cameron Johnson (Denver Nuggets)

On the other side of the trade, things looked rough for the Nuggets early as Johnson got off to a slow start and missed a lot of time with injuries. But he has come along over the last 17 games. He has been a terrific third through fifth option, averaging 14.3 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the field, including 48.3 percent from three on 5.2 attempts per game. Most importantly, the Nuggets have finally been mostly healthy and are showing consistency.

Johnson is entering the final year of the four-year, $90 million extension he signed with the Nets. He will be extension-eligible starting on July 6 through the end of the 2026-27 season, for up to four years and $141.1 million. That would average roughly 15 percent of the salary cap, which is comparable to the five-year, $140 million contract Keegan Murray just signed with the Kings.

The Murray deal, or $28 million annually, could be a useful framework for Johnson’s annual salary range, but probably a little lower and with fewer years because of his age and injury history. A lot more will be known after the playoffs. His value will ride on his performance and how deep the Nuggets advance, but that seems like an appropriate range for the type of player he is.

As discussed in several posts on Third Apron, the Nuggets are unlikely to keep their top six players together because the repeater tax penalties would push their total roster expenditures above half a billion dollars. It seems like something will have to give between letting Peyton Watson go and trading a veteran like Christian Braun or Johnson. Which player they move on from may come down to a combination of playoff performance and price.

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