It’s Early, But Cole Anthony’s Contract Extension Looks Like A Steal

The Orlando Magic have played just two games on the young season, meaning it’s difficult to make any grand conclusion on the state of the franchise’s players.

For example, we probably shouldn’t put too much stock into Franz Wagner hitting 39.3% from the field. Or Wendell Carter Jr. hitting 35.3%. Those percentages will, unquestionably, increase and get back to where they normally are.

This is also true for Cole Anthony, who is averaging 19 points in 26 minutes in the first two games.

However, instead of digging into numbers that are bound to fluctuate, let’s instead look at Anthony from a contractual point of view, after the combo guard signed a $39 million contract before the rookie extension deadline, spanning three seasons.

For a player who has shown a capacity of putting the ball in the basket, that contract already projects to be an asset for Orlando, and that’s before accounting for further development, and a game that has already seen traits of being rounded out.

(Anthony is averaging 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28.4 minutes for his career which, for a player standing just 6’3, is certainly accepted.)

So let’s look at the pessimistic view first, and say Anthony’s game grows stagnant, never to improve.

That would leave him as a rotation combo guard who – at worst – can give Orlando a scoring punch off the bench, both in terms of shooting and getting to the basket, while also picking up some of the slack as a rebounder, and can be relied upon to occasionally initiate the offense.

In today’s market, NBA teams are paying $13 million annually for that. Particularly as the salary cap is bound to increase significantly when the league closes on a new TV deal.

But here’s the thing about pessimism, especially when discussing 23-year-old players: It’s hardly ever an accurate assessment.

Players that age improve. Anthony has too. Whether it’s fine-tuning his game by minimizing turnovers, increasing his efficiency, or getting better on defense, players in that age group almost fall backwards into some level of improvement, and Anthony is no exception.

$13 million?

Let’s just call it what it is: The Magic got an absolute steal by getting Anthony to that number. You could argue that Orlando’s biggest challenge now will be to extend him on his next contract, as the newly implemented 140% extension barrier might not even allow the Magic to offer enough money to keep him, without having him reach unrestricted free agency first.

That angle opens another door, in the way of trade.

Anthony could make for a strong trade asset next July, if the Magic believe more in, say Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, or Anthony Black instead.

If – or maybe more realistically, when – the Magic are ready to accelerate their process by going all-in on a star trade, Anthony should be an asset in such discussions.

No team would mind taking on players who outperform their contract. Perhaps they can use said player, and that player’s presence can help them keep costs down. Or, perhaps the team can pivot and send that player elsewhere in another trade, knowing they’re sending out a valuable asset.

(Yes, players on quality contracts can be turned into journeymen. But in some twisted way, that’s actually a compliment.)

For Anthony, he came so cheap that he’s directly helping Orlando with their roster crunch at the guard spot.

Anthony will be occupying around 9.1% of the salary cap when his deal kicks in next season, and if Orlando is juggling between him and one of the other guards who are looking for $20 million per year, odds are good Orlando will go with the cheaper option, especially if they value both players somewhat equally.

However you slice it, Orlando got Anthony to return on a deal that’s incredibly friendly, which goes a long way in their long-term roster construction.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.