Trajan Langdon and the Detroit Pistons have an important season ahead of them when it comes to player development and evaluation.
The Pistons have already signed Cade Cunningham to a max extension, and Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren will both be eligible for extensions next summer.
For now, these extension numbers are a guessing game, as both have to show improvements in key areas before the Pistons can commit to them long-term.
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That’s especially true for Ivey, who is entering his third season at age 22 and needs to make clear progress if he wants to earn an extension. But what will his number look like? That depends on next season.
So he’s not getting an extension, simple as that. Ivey doesn’t need to be an All-Star next season, but if he’s ineffective and a total sieve on defense, then there’s no reason for the Pistons to offer him an early extension.
They could just let Ivey play out his fourth year and become a restricted free agent, which carries some risk, but not as much as giving a big extension to a guy who hasn’t earned it.
Let’s say Ivey takes a leap forward in efficiency, shows noticeable improvement on defense and can run the offense while being offset with Cade Cunningham.
In that scenario, Ivey’s baseline for an extension likely looks a lot like Isaiah Stewart’s four-year, $60 million minimum.
It’s hard to imagine Ivey getting less than that unless he fails to improve, in which case the Pistons likely wouldn’t offer him an extension at all or I would even trade it.
But whether Ivey has a good or bad season, he’ll at least get what Beef Stew got in his extension.
Best case scenario, Ivey makes the kind of improvement a guy like Tyrese Maxey did in his third season, becoming a legitimate second option and a clear building block.
If Ivey shoots closer to 40 percent from long range with more volume, scores more efficiently around the basket and becomes at least a passable defender, then the type of contract Immanuel Quickley got (in the range of five years, $162 million) isn’t out of the question.
Most people thought that was a bit too much for Quickley, but when you look at how the cap is rising, $30 million and up will be the minimum salary for a good NBA starter.
I think it’s safe to say that Jaden Ivey has between $60 million and $160 million on the line next season, as a big improvement will mean a big payday, but if his development plateaus he might not get an extension at all.
