Should The Indiana Pacers And Oshae Brissett Work On A Contract Extension Before Free Agency?

Indiana Pacers forward Oshae Brissett inked his three-year contract with the Pacers two years ago to the date. He signed a mid-season deal that covered three campaigns.

Brissett’s contract expires on June 30, and he could become a free agent at that time. He would be an unrestricted free agent, meaning Brissett could sign with the team of his choosing, Pacers included. Indiana has full Bird Rights on Brissett, meaning they can sign him to essentially any deal he may want in free agency.

If both parties are so inclined, though, they could agree to a contract extension before free agency even starts. Because Brissett signed a three-year deal initially and two calendar years have passed since the deal was agreed to, the 24-year old forward could put pen to paper on a new deal with Indiana before the offseason truly starts.

Since Brissett signed his initial deal during a season in which the pandemic altered the league calendar, he has technically been eligible to sign a contract extension for about a month. The NBA changed the alignment of calendar dates from seasons that had a drastically altered schedule.

The way veteran extensions work details that Brissett’s salary in the first year of any extension can go as high as the larger of 120% of his current salary or 120% of the NBA’s average salary. Because the forward currently makes the minimum, the latter is the larger number. The exact league average salary isn’t public, but it’s usually just over the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception — potentially somewhere between $11 and $11.5 million.

That would put the maximum dollar amount in the first year of a potential Brissett extension just shy of $14 million. He would be eligible for a raise up to 8%, or just over $1 million, of that amount in each season, though raises are not required.

The maximum number of seasons that could be added on to Brissett’s contract would be four. That would make his deal five years in total, though the first of those five years just represents the time period from now until June 30.

Altogether, the most that Brissett could add to his deal would be four years and roughly $62 million in total. He could also add as few as one year to his deal all the way down at the league’s minimum salary. So long as the dollar and season amount fits within those parameters, it’s a legal extension.

Of course, Brissett is not worth an extension worth $60 million. But somewhere in between that number and his current salary makes sense as a per-year value, likely closer to $5 million — he averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this season. He does have value, and he’s still young. That is the point of negotiations.

The tricky part for a potential Brissett extension is the motivations of both the Pacers and Brissett. There are reasons for both sides to pursue a deal, but there is also plenty of logic for both sides to just wait until free agency to have contract discussions.

On the Pacers side, Brissett plays a position of need at power forward, and he is just 24-years old. He fits their roster situation well right now. But he also struggled this season, shooting just 38.6%, and was completely out of the rotation on occasion. The players who frequently were in the rotation instead of Brissett are all under contract with Indiana for 2023-24.

Additionally, while the young forward is a free agent, the blue and gold will have to play a complicated game with their roster spots this summer. Between Brissett, James Johnson, and George Hill, Indiana only has three standard roster spots opening up this offseason. But they have five draft picks and significant cap room. If they want to add players via the draft or via free agency, then the Pacers will need to let their outbound players go or make trades involving many pieces.

Brissett has talent, but if the Pacers’ front office has to move pieces around just to fit him in with a contract extension, suddenly the extension calculus changes. The team would have to decide if any trade needed to open spots to fit in Brissett is worth the cost.

And for Brissett, an extension may just be pointless before July. Even if he wants to be back with the blue and gold, any deal he could sign with the team as a veteran extension he could also sign as a free agent with full Bird Rights. Because of the situation, it might make more sense for Brissett to wait and see if any better offers pop up in the offseason. If not, he could still return to Indiana on the same deal he may have gotten as an extension.

As mentioned above, the four-year pro was also out of the rotation sometimes this past campaign. Maybe money will be enough to secure Brissett’s services, but if another team can offer a more consistent role, that could be attractive to the forward.

Ultimately, the fact that Brissett could sign any extension offer as an identical contract in free agency makes an extension seem unlikely. Waiting might be the best option for the forward — and for the Pacers with their roster crunch.

But if Brissett knows he wants to return to Indiana, and the Pacers know they want him back, getting a deal done as soon as possible makes sense. Getting it out of the way could help the Pacers make other decisions with more knowledge in the draft and free agency.

Last summer, Robert Covington, Thaddeus Young, Gary Harris, and Ivica Zubac signed contract extensions with their prior team before free agency. Covington signed his new deal in early May while the other three made their agreements just before July 1. There is recent precedent for a player extending with their prior team before free agency.

For the Indiana Pacers and Oshae Brissett, those are the discussions they need to have in the coming months. There are pros and cons to a contract extension, and the player and team will have to determine if negotiating prior to July 1 makes sense.