4 Players Who Earned Themselves A Big Raise In The 2024 NBA Playoffs

Heading into the 2024 NBA playoffs, we highlighted a half-dozen soon-to-be free agents who needed to have a strong postseason run. None of their teams even made it out of the first round, which limited the damage that each could do.

While Tobias Harris, Jonas Valanciunas and D’Angelo Russell (among others) did themselves no favors with their respective performances, a handful of soon-to-be free agents did.

A breakout playoff run isn’t guaranteed to result in a massive contract in free agency. Teams can’t overrate a small sample size, even one on the league’s biggest stage. Still, players who thrive in the ratcheted-up intensity of the playoffs do tend to get more handsomely compensated than their so-called 82-game counterparts.

Four players in particular—two who are set to become free agents this summer, and two who could be next offseason—likely earned themselves a hefty raise on their next contracts after showing out in the playoffs this year.

Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks

Hartenstein took over as the Knicks’ full-time starting center in late December in place of the injured Mitchell Robinson and averaged 8.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in only 28.0 minutes per game from that point forward. He carried that all-around impact into the playoffs, where he played a particularly critical role in the Knicks’ first-round series against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.

In only 26.4 minutes per game, Hartenstein averaged 10.3 points on 60.0% shooting, 6.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game throughout the series. He tormented Embiid and the Sixers with a reliable teardrop shot from inside the paint, which helped the Knicks build and sustain leads across multiple games.

Hartenstein was far more inconsistent against the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals. He made a sizable impact in their three wins of that series, but he was relatively quiet in all four of their losses, including zero points on 0-of-2 shooting, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in the Knicks’ blowout Game 7 loss.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, “league executives and cap strategists are projecting Hartenstein will be able to draw at least $80 million, and perhaps upward of $100 million” from another team in free agency this offseason. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who can create more than $35 million in cap space, lurk as one such possibility.

Citing sources, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post described the Thunder as “the top threat to pry Hartenstein away from the Knicks in free agency.” Early Bird rights limit the Knicks to offering a starting salary of no more than $16.2 million and a four-year, $72.5 million deal in total, while the Thunder are reportedly eyeing a shorter-term balloon deal for him to maintain their big-picture flexibility.

Derrick Jones Jr., Dallas Mavericks

Last June, Derrick Jones Jr. declined his $3.4 million player option with the Chicago Bulls to become an unrestricted free agent. Two months later, he signed a one-year, $2.7 million minimum-salary deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

Fresh off a run to the NBA Finals where he started every playoff game, he has no regrets about that decision.

Jones set a new career high in starts (66), points (8.6), three-pointers (1.1) and minutes (23.5) per game during the regular season, which made him one of the best minimum-salary signings from last offseason. He was even better during most of the playoffs, particularly when he averaged 19.3 points on 64.7% shooting over a three-game stretch against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Jones’ agent, Aaron Turner, told Tim Cato of The Athletic that Jones wants to re-sign with the Mavericks this offseason. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd reciprocated that.

“We understand the business (and that) there’s other teams that can maybe pay him more,” Kidd said, per Cato. “But we definitely want him back.”

Jones might go from a minimum salary to the $12.9 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, if not higher.

Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers

Andrew Nembhard can’t become a free agent until 2025 at the earliest, so he isn’t necessarily due a hefty raise this summer. The Indiana Pacers can offer him a four-year extension projected to be worth roughly $75 million, and they plan to do exactly that, according to longtime NBA insider Marc Stein.

However, in the wake of Nembhard’s breakout playoff performance, it’s fair to wonder whether that’s even enough for him to consider.

Nembhard’s playoffs began with a nondescript six points and three assists in a 15-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the opening round. He proceeded to average 14.7 points on 61.4% shooting, 4.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds over his next seven games, four of which were Pacers victories.

Nembhard saved his best for last, though. After Tyrese Haliburton suffered a hamstring strain in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Nembhard did his best Haliburton impression in Games 3 and 4. He averaged 28.0 points, 9.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 56.4% overall and 53.8% from three-point range against the future NBA champion Boston Celtics.

The Pacers have a $2.2 million club option on Nembhard in 2025-26 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2026-27. They could decline that club option and make him a restricted free agent next summer, where he’d be eligible for as much as a five-year, $224.9 million contract.

There’s no guarantee that Nembhard would get anything close to that, especially if the Pacers re-sign Pascal Siakam this summer to a five-year, $243.5 million max contract. Still, he’s headed for at least a $75 million payday this offseason or what could be an even larger deal by 2026-27 at the latest.

Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers

Including Evan Mobley here is cheating to an extent. The Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021-22 and third-place finisher in the Defensive Player of the Year race in 2022-23 was always going to get a major raise after his rookie-scale contract expired.

However, the playoffs gave the Cavaliers a look at what life could be like post-Jarrett Allen with Mobley manning the 5.

Before Allen went down with his season-ending rib injury, Mobley averaged only 14.3 points on 44.7% shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 30.6 minutes across four playoff games alongside him. Without Allen on the floor, he jumped to 16.9 points on 60.6% shooting, 10.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks in 37.5 minutes across eight games.

Although the Cavaliers lost to the Celtics in five games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Mobley’s 33-points, seven-rebound, four-assist night in the season-ending Game 5 loss should have quelled any concerns they might have had about giving him a five-year, $224.9 million max extension. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suspects the Cavs won’t waste much time offering him that deal this offseason.

The Cavaliers will continue to face fit questions about the Mobley-Allen pairing until one of them becomes a consistent three-point shooter. Allen is coming off arguably his best season ever and offers a rock-solid floor, but the Cavaliers appear more inclined to bet on Mobley’s upside if they eventually have to break up that duo.

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