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With less than three weeks until the NBA season tips off, and the October 20 contract extension deadline looming, the Miami Heat brazenly extended 22-year-old Nikola Jovic for four years and $62.4 million. Miami locked him in just 107 games into his career, where he has averaged 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.4 threes per game.<\/p>\n
Jovic is a promising 6-foot-11 stretch big with intriguing passing chops, but he\u2019s been largely average through three professional seasons and hasn\u2019t proven durable, averaging just 35.6 games per year. In that span, Miami has posted a positive on-court differential with him in only one season. Last year, the Heat were 2.6 points per 100 possessions worse with Jovic on the floor.<\/p>\n
Thus, Miami\u2019s decision to give Jovic a four-year deal just above the non-taxpayer mid-level was more a bet on his long-term upside than his current production. At 22, though, with his size and shotmaking, it\u2019s a relatively safe gamble.<\/p>\n
Still, it\u2019s not the kind of deal that will make rival teams jealous. Committing roughly $15.5 million annually to a player who ranked 250th in player efficiency rating (PER) last season looks like a slight overpay given his production and impact.<\/p>\n
That kind of deal could leave other young players eager for new contracts of their own. For the Chicago Bulls, that spotlight falls on 2022 draftee Dalen Terry, who faces the same October 20 extension deadline.<\/p>\n
Now, don\u2019t get it twisted\u2014Terry\u2019s output doesn\u2019t stack up to Jovic\u2019s, and he ranked 457th in PER last year. But like Jovic, he\u2019s a young wing with upside, having turned 23 this July. With a 6-foot-7 frame, a 7-foot-1 wingspan, and 170 games under his belt in three seasons, he\u2019s a durable athlete with plenty of room to grow.<\/p>\n
Yet career averages of 3.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game don\u2019t exactly argue for a contract extension, even if Terry\u2019s impact extends beyond those modest counting stats.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the thing: even if Terry doesn\u2019t ink an extension now, Jovic\u2019s deal is one he\u2019ll likely chase in the offseason, much like Josh Giddey\u2019s camp used Jalen Suggs\u2019 five-year, $150.5 million Orlando deal last October as a benchmark.<\/p>\n
If Terry fulfills his offseason hype, averaging say 10 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while offering versatile defense in 2025\u201326, Jovic\u2019s $62.5 million deal would be reasonable. Even then, it\u2019s tough to see the Bulls shelling out that kind of money for a player with just one year of hypothetical promising production.<\/p>\n
Jovic\u2019s extension might not be a problem for the Bulls just yet, but it could come back to bite them down the line, possibly with fellow forward Julian Phillips in the mix for a new contract next October.<\/p>\n The Heat locked in Nikola Jovic for 4 years, $62.5 million. a blueprint that other young players, like the Chicago Bulls\u2019 youngsters, may follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":107149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n