The deadline for teams to sign players from the draft class of 2010 to extensions came and went at the stroke of midnight ET on Nov. 1. Those who did not get extensions will be unrestricted free agents this summer.
Six players received extensions, with three of them getting done during the offseason. Two more were completed during training camp and the last one was executed Thursday in Memphis, just hours before the deadline.
Meanwhile, three other rumored extensions did not get done, with rebuilding clubs unwilling to pull the trigger. Perhaps the biggest surprise was no extension for Eric Bledson of the Suns, who was supposed to be a major rebuilding piece.
Which teams were prudent in signing – or not signing – their three-year veterans? Let’s take a closer look from a statistical standpoint.
The Extended Players
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Among the six 2010 draftees who got contract extensions, no player deserved it more than George, who got a max five-year deal between $80 million and $90 million. He is only going to improve offensively as seen by his first two games this season when he averaged 28 points on 48.6 percent shooting with five assists. He is already one of the elite defenders in the NBA, as seen by his numbers from last season:
| George 12-13 | Numbers | NBA Rank |
| D Win Shares | 6.3 | 1 |
| D Rating | 97.1 | 3 |
| Steals | 143 | 6 |
| Steals Per Gm | 1.8 | 7 |
| Steal % | 2.6 | 15 |
| Win Shares | 9 | 20 |
Indiana rightfully realized that George is the cornerstone of the franchise and paid him accordingly. Not only does Chris Sheridan think the Pacers will win the NBA title this season (with one important caveat), but he thinks George could win the MVP award. Not bad for a somewhat overlooked swingman from Fresno State.
John Wall, Washington Wizards
When it happened in late July, people wondered what GM Ernie Grunfeld was thinking when he gave Wall a five-year max contract worth $80 million. There’s no question that Wall is Washington’s best player and a former overall No. 1 pick, but that doesn’t mean you should throw that kind of money at Wall. He had 20 points, 11 assists and three steals in a season-opening loss at Detroit, but he just doesn’t stack up to other elite point guards who received max deals.
Did he deserve the same contracts given to Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook?
|
3rd season |
PER |
TS% |
EFG% |
O RTG |
D RTG |
Win Shares |
WS/48 |
|
Wall |
20.8 |
52.1 |
44.9 |
105 |
103 |
4.5 |
0.134 |
|
Rose |
23.5 |
55 |
48.5 |
113 |
103 |
13.1 |
0.208 |
|
Westbrook |
23.6 |
53.8 |
45.4 |
110 |
107 |
9.4 |
0.159 |
Or did he deserve a contract similar to the deals given to Jrue Holiday or Ty Lawson?
|
PG |
Min |
Games |
FG% |
3FG% |
Pts |
Ast |
Reb |
Stl |
TO |
|
Wall |
32.7 |
49 |
44.1 |
26.7 |
18.5 |
7.6 |
4 |
1.3 |
3.2 |
|
Holiday |
37.5 |
78 |
43.1 |
36.8 |
17.7 |
8 |
4.2 |
1.6 |
3.7 |
|
Lawson |
34.4 |
73 |
46.1 |
36.6 |
16.7 |
6.9 |
2.7 |
1.5 |
2.5 |
With Grunfeld in a contract year and Washington all in to make the playoffs this season after the acquisition of Marcin Gortat from Phoenix, the Wizards better hope Wall is worth the enormous contract they gave him.
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
In many ways, Cousins regressed (or at best showed no tangible statistical improvement) during his third season. Part of that could be Sacramento’s coaching carousel over his three years or his perceived lack of maturity. Either way, his numbers in many respects just weren’t as good in 2012-2013 as they were the prior season. Coincidentally, Cousins averaged exactly 30.5 minutes per game in each of his last two seasons.
| Cousins | FG % | Pts | Reb | Blk | PER | O Rtg | D Rtg | WS | WS/48 |
| 2011-2012 | 44.8 | 18.1 | 11 | 1.2 | 21.7 | 102 | 104 | 4.2 | 0.104 |
| 2012-2013 | 46.5 | 17.1 | 9.9 | 0.7 | 20.2 | 102 | 106 | 4.4 | 0.092 |
The field goal numbers were better, but practically every other major number got worse. Despite all the issues and the criticism Cousins faces, he’s still a 20-plus PER player and probably would have gotten a max deal somewhere. Sacramento chose to give Cousins $60 million instead of overpaying for Tyreke Evans, which this writer is okay with.
With Evans out of the picture and new coach Mike Malone running the team through Cousins, this should be the season in which we really see a large leap in his game.
Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz
Favors has never started more than 27 games in any season, nor has he averaged double figures in scoring or more than 23.2 minutes in any of his three full NBA seasons. That didn’t stop the Jazz from giving the former third overall pick a four-year extension worth $47 million.
But why?
First, Favors was stuck behind Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap – both of whom left as free agents – so his minutes are 
sure to rise. Second, Favors’ per-36 minute numbers last season were heavenly – 14.6 points, 11 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Last season, Favors shot 48.2 percent from the field, which is good but needs to get better. If he can do that, he will be more than worth the length and salary the Jazz gave him.
Favors played 43 minutes in the season opener against Oklahoma City and scored 15 points with nine rebounds, a career-high five assists and two blocks. If that’s a sign of things to come, look out.
Larry Sanders, Milwaukee Bucks
The Larry Sanders Show is not only on defense, where he is one of the league’s top three or four forces. He also improved his offense as well. Based on what he did last season on the defensive side of the ball alone, he more than deserved a four-year extension worth $44 million that kicks in at the beginning of the 2014-2015 season.
| Larry Sanders | Numbers | NBA Rank |
| Block % | 7.6 | 1 |
| Blk Per Game | 2.8 | 2 |
| Blocks | 201 | 3 |
| Def Rating | 98.5 | 5 |
| Rebound % | 18.6 | 11 |
| Reb Per Game | 9.5 | 12 |
| D-Reb % | 25.8 | 13 |
| O-Reb % | 12 | 15 |
| O-Rebounds | 224 | 16 |
| Total Reb | 674 | 19 |
After a wacky offseason in which Milwaukee changed its starting backcourt, Sanders emerged as the club’s marquee player and is now being paid like it. As long as he stays out of foul trouble – which he could not do in the team’s opener against New York – he is going to continue to climb up the rankings of the league’s top players.