Five fascinating NBA Eastern Conference extension candidates

The NBA Finals and NBA Draft are done. Now, we move on to the rest of the offseason.

The talk of the NBA town is contract extensions, with free agency officially opening up on June 30 at 6 p.m. EST. Let’s look at five of the more intriguing extension candidates in the Eastern Conference.

Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

A 26-year-old, four-time All-Star, who led the league in assists and consistently scores in the mid-20s: max extension. Right? Maybe not.

Young is a player who does what he does well yet provides precious little outside of that silo. He is famously horrid defensively and, while improved, is stagnant when the ball isn’t in his hands.

The Hawks have made moves to compete, but with Jalen Johnson about to start an expensive extension and both Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher due to get paid, it behooves Atlanta to abstain from paying Young his full four-year, $229M deal.

Tyler Herro, Miami Heat

Herro is a polarizing player. An old-fashioned bucket getter who plays with an extraordinary degree of difficulty, he’s fun to watch. Yet he’s a below-average playmaker and one of the very worst defenders in the NBA. He falls into the archetype of prime Damian Lillard or DeMar DeRozan, though he is not nearly as good as either of them.

Herro would be up for a super-max if he makes an All-NBA squad next season. That raises the question as to whether Herro would sign an extension now or wait until next off-season. The bet here is that he waits another year and attempts to build off his career-best campaign. Even if he doesn’t make All-NBA, he can then sign for four years, $207M.

Mikal Bridges, New York Knicks

This generation’s A.C. Green is eligible for a four-year, $156M extension. In a vacuum, he’s worth it. Even with Jalen Brunson’s team-friendly deal, can the Knicks afford to pay their fourth-best player nearly $40M per year? If Tom Thibodeau were still coaching, and you could fill roster spots nine through 15 with mannequins, then sure. But with a new coach who will presumably understand that those people sitting next to him in uniform are more than just particularly fervent fans, cap flexibility will mean something.

Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks

Coming into the final year of his four-year, $60M deal, Robinson is eligible to sign a $90M deal of the same duration, roughly equivalent to low-end starters' money. Is he worth it?

Robinson is a tough evaluation. He is a player with a singular elite skill: cleaning the offensive glass. Yet he doesn’t provide much of anything else. He’s a zero with the ball in his hands and merely an adequate rim protector. Aligned with the fact that he is a health risk (20 regular-season games missed in five of the seven seasons he's been in the league) and it makes him a risky proposition.

That said, his ability to play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns gives the Knicks on-court flexibility, and a new deal might give them front-office flexibility on the trade front.

Aaron Nesmith, Indiana Pacers

Nesmith has absolutely outplayed his current $11M per season deal, which still has two years to run. A fantastic shooter and high-level defender, Nesmith will get a big pay rise. How much depends on his patience and his willingness to give Indiana a hometown discount.

If Nesmith re-signs this offseason, he could demand a three-year, $64M deal. However, if he waits until he hits the open market, he could sign for four years at $156M.

Nesmith will have to weigh up if he wants to lock in great money now or wait it out for life-changing money. Given his history of ankle injuries and that he hasn’t made serious moolah over his journey, does he cash in on a career season right away?