3 Reasons the Spurs must extend Devin Vassell before the season starts

The preseason is set to begin in just a few days for the San Antonio Spurs, and it will give fans the chance to see players such as Devin Vassell back in action. Vassell was arguably the team's best player last season but logged just 38 games due to injury. Those injuries are hopefully behind him now thanks to an extended summer break, and he likely used that time to continue to add to his game.

In addition to showing fans what he has learned this summer, he can also use the preseason to show the Spurs his expanded skillset. That could be key for Vassell, who is still awaiting a contract extension, with the deadline being the day before the start of the regular season. That gives the Spurs a deadline of October 23rd to decide whether to sign him to an extension.

If they don't, then they could wait until next summer, when he enters restricted free agency. However, there are several reasons why San Antonio should avoid restricted free agency at all costs. Next, we'll take a look at why the Spurs should extend Vassell ahead of the regular season.

3. Extending Vassell now could save cap space later.

The NBA's rookie contract extension process is weird because it is partly a guessing game. Teams have to decide the future value of a player and try to offer a deal that is worth less than or equal to that projected amount, hoping that the player and his agent accept it. The same will be true of the Spurs, Vassell, and his agent.

However, negotiations could be made more complicated by the fact that there will soon be a new TV contract. That will cause the salary cap to dramatically rise over the next few years. Therefore, if you were expecting Vassell to make around $20 million a season, he and his agent might be thinking closer to $35 million annually.

Especially after other wings like Jordan Poole, RJ Barrett, and Tyler Herro all recently got 4-year, $120 million-plus deals. Vassell's agent can make the case that he is better than each of those players, and other teams might agree if Vassell hits restricted free agency. That increases the need to get a deal done before this year's deadline.

Recent history suggests that the Spurs will come to an agreement on an extension before the deadline and avoid restricted free agency altogether. Better yet, when looking at Dejounte Murray's, Derrick White's, and Keldon Johnson's extensions, San Antonio normally does a great job of locking young players into cheap long-term deals. That may be tougher this time around, but not impossible.

2. Restricted free agency is unpredictable.

Waiting until next summer to lock up Vassell could be risky for several reasons. One is that another team could offer more than what the Spurs intend to offer, or they could try to offer a poison pill contract. In that case, they would try to offer a contract that would hurt the Spurs financially.

That is harder to do since the Spurs don't have a lot of money committed long-term, but another team could technically offer a 3-year, $100 million contract. That would pay him more annually, which could affect future cap space and have him hit unrestricted free agency a year sooner. That is something that San Antonio should want to avoid if they possibly can.

Signing him to a longer contract is better and more advantageous for the Spurs, and the only way to ensure that that happens is to extend him this summer. Although Vassell could have a future with the team, the Spurs ended up flipping Murray and White. Signing him this summer gives San Antonio more options and prevents another team from trying to steal him away in restricted free agency.

1. Contract creativity

The new collective bargaining agreement allows teams to extend players on rookie-scale contracts to 5-year deals even if they aren't eligible for rookie max extensions. That would mean that San Antonio could sign Vassell to a 5-year extension and lock him up for a total of six seasons instead of five, including the final year of his rookie deal.

The Spurs taking advantage of a new CBA rule to extend a player that they really like for a longer period of time sounds like it is right up their alley. Even still, the sticker shock of signing a rising star to a big 5-year deal might make them think twice or not even consider it.

Would they really sign him to a 5-year, $135 million deal? It would certainly save them money in the long run, but they might decide against it. Vassell and his agent might also decline to be locked into a deal for that long, with the salary cap potentially rising as much as 10% a year after next season. Thus, it's likely that the Spurs attempt to sign Vassell to a standard 4-year extension, though signing him this summer gives them the opportunity for contract creativity.