Three Raptors set to become extension eligible this offseason
Some contract extensions are no-brainers. Think rookie extensions for promising lottery picks like DeMar DeRozan in 2013 or Scottie Barnes in 2024. The team can offer the player more money and years than anyone else and the player is still going to be at their most affordable as they enter the prime of their careers. Plenty of incentive for both sides to strike a deal.
Then there’s the opposite. Situations where the player’s cap hit has become an albatross (think DeMarre Carroll or Hedo Turkoglu) and they won’t be willing to take a significant pay-cut, leaving the team no alternative but to cut them loose for the sake of its cap sheet.
Most extension eligible players fall somewhere in the middle. They may be slightly underpaid and deserve a raise, maybe they’re not performing to the full value of their deal, or maybe it’s goldilocks and the money is just right. Wherever the contract falls on this scale, the decision to sign an extension – and its terms – isn’t blatantly obvious.
The Toronto Raptors have three players set to be extension eligible this offseason who all fall into this group: RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, and Ochai Agbaji. Here we will try to parse what the likelihood of an extension is for each of them.
(The first year of an extension must be at least 140 percent of the last year of a players existing contract, and the annual value of the extension can either increase or decrease by a maximum of 8 percent each season.)
RJ Barrett
After initially being labelled a “toxic asset,” when first coming home to Toronto in the OG Anunoby deal, Barrett has thoroughly rehabilitated his value with his tremendous play.
In his first half-season with the Raptors, he saw a remarkable uptick in efficiency (from 54 percent true shooting to 62 percent) while also taking more shots. His game fit far better in Darko Rajakovic’s motion-heavy offence where he was able to both score off more cuts and get downhill more often off handoffs and off-ball screens. Being able to run in his natural transition lane as a lefty more often didn’t hurt either.
This season Barrett was expected to do way more, carrying the Raptors offence for stretches and being handed a ton of responsibility to create shots both for himself and others. His efficiency inevitably dropped as his churning drives ate up gobs of possessions and he slowly got gassed throughout the year. Yet he saw great improvements as a pick n’ roll ball-handler and set career-highs in points (21.1) rebounds (6.3) and assists (5.4).
This all points to Barrett likely seeking a sizable raise if and when the topic of an extension is broached.
Yet the Raptors in their current financial state may be reluctant to hand out such a deal. They are currently set to be $6,093,697 under the tax in 2025-26, and that’s with two rosters spots left to fill – likely with their first and second-round draft picks. A rookie scale deal for the ninth pick alone will be worth anywhere between $5 million and $7.6 million.
While an extension for Barrett – or any of the extension eligible Raptors – won’t affect the cap sheet for the upcoming season, the team may be hesitant to offer up future money when it is already so close to tax territory while the future remains uncertain.
Barrett is extension eligible as of October 1.
Jakob Poeltl
Poeltl both had a career-year and was tremendously important to the Raptors’ development in 2024-25.
He also projects to be an impact centre on a winning team based on both his stylistic traits (finishing, screening, decision making, rim deterrence) and his more specific on/off numbers.
For those reasons, the 29-year-old big could potentially be an attractive extension option going into the final season of his existing four-year deal at $19.5 million.
Poeltl ranked in the 86th percentile among big men in on/off rating this season and was 11th in the league at the position (minimum 1000 minutes). And he is the 18th highest-paid centre by average annual value. He is already outperforming higher paid centres such as Nic Claxton, Wendell Carter Jr., and Rudy Gobert both in impact metrics and scoring.
Even if he isn’t the top ten centre Masai proclaimed him to be, the average salary of the 11th-20th highest paid big men is currently $19.7 million, a number that will only grow in coming years. This makes Poeltl’s current contract seem like a steal and a veteran extension palatable.
While the Raptors front office may be reluctant to spend as previously outlined, Poeltl may be an exception, especially considering that the team is ready to be good next season and the impact Poeltl has on winning.
Poeltl is extension eligible as of July 6.
Ochai Agbaji
Going into the final season of Agbaji’s contract, it stands to reason that he is the least likely to be extended. And like Barrett and Poeltl, Agbaji did turn in an excellent, career-best year in 2024-25. He set new highs in all the major box score categories and took a massive leap with his jumper. The third-year wing registered career-highs in both 3-point percentage (39.9) and attempts (4.0).
Yet, the Raptors have a glut of youth at the same position including Ja’Kobe Walter and Gradey Dick who both have more upside and will be less expensive.
Agbaji will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so it’s possible that he sticks around until then and they try to work something out from there based on what kind of qualifying offer he’s due. But it’s improbable that he’s extended, and he could even be used as a trade piece to help the Raptors maneuver under the tax at some point either during the offseason or in the season ahead.
Agbaji will be extension eligible on July 1.
The post Three Raptors set to become extension eligible this offseason first appeared on Raptors Republic.