Projecting Upcoming Contract Situations: Current Extension-Eligible Players - Part 1
In the first part of this series, we preview 8 players who could avoid free agency by signing an extension by June 30, 2026. Also, a review on the Gui Santos extension.
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.
Gui Santos (Golden State Warriors)
Gui Santos is the first player in 2025-26 to sign a veteran extension midseason. According to Shams Charania, he extended for three years, $15 million with a player option for 2028-29. He received a $5 million annual average salary, which is slightly below the $5.1 million bi-annual exception.
The Warriors have struggled in recent years to find reliable depth at the wing. Santos’ stats don’t jump out, but he’s a versatile forward who plays hard on both ends of the court. He’s a massive development for a team with a coach as selective as Steve Kerr is to find a wing they can trust to play significant minutes.
There isn’t really a comparable signing or extension for a similar player recently. The closest may be the Lakers’ signing of Marcus Smart ($5.1 million) last offseason, who is playing a position up in a similar role as Santos. Ziaire Williams ($6.25 million) with the Nets also comes to mind.
Santos was set to become a restricted free agent by getting tendered a $3 million qualifying offer. His salary comes out a little lower than the players mentioned above for more years, but in return, he gets a player option. That is valuable if he continues to improve, giving him a chance to earn more in the short term.
Santos may have left some money on the table, but it’s hard to envision him receiving significantly more. The Warriors are on a downward trajectory with Jimmy Butler out for the season and Stephen Curry missing extended time. It’s unlikely they’ll have a deep playoff run where he could further increase his value.
The nature of restricted free agency could also disincentivize teams from making him a big offer to hopefully steal him away from the Warriors. In all likelihood, he would’ve received a similar contract offer from them in restricted free agency. However, there’s no guarantee he’d get the player option later. For that, he made a reasonable decision accepting this deal when he did.
