Which NBA stars are signing deals?

While the focus will be on the Feb. 6 trade deadline, there will be still be players signing extensions that will keep them from entering free agency.

Ahead of the 2024-25 regular season, several top stars such as the Philadelphia 76ers‘ Joel Embiid and Golden State Warriors‘ Stephen Curry signed new extensions. With a third of the season complete, the first notable midseason deal sees Alex Caruso sign a four-year extension worth $81 million that will keep him with the Western Conference leaders for the foreseeable future.

As further signings get finalized, ESPN NBA Insider Kevin Pelton analyzes what it means for the rest of the 2024-25 season and beyond.

MORE: Trade tracker | Trade grades | Outlook for all 30 teams

Grade: Pass (extensions graded on pass/fail scale)

When the the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Caruso for Josh Giddey in June, an extension looked likely. Caruso is in the final season of the bargain contract he signed with the Chicago Bulls and this was the largest extension he could sign, once six months had passed from the date of the trade as of Dec. 21.

Based on the way Caruso played last season in Chicago, where he averaged a career-high 28.7 minutes per game and was voted to the All-Defensive second team, $20 million per season is more than reasonable as the salary cap goes up. Soon, that won’t be appreciably more than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception the Bulls used to sign Caruso to his current deal.

With Oklahoma City, Caruso has been utilized far more as a luxury than the necessity he was in Chicago. Presumably with an eye toward avoiding the minor injuries that limited Caruso last season, the Thunder have played him exclusively off the bench, for just 20.2 MPG. That would be Caruso’s least playing time since 2019-20 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Not coincidentally, Oklahoma City aspires to repeat the Lakers’ 2020 title run with Caruso, and his role could be bigger in the spring — particularly if Caruso shoots the ball better. Although Caruso has delivered on defense, he hasn’t proved to be the shooting upgrade over the departed Giddey the Thunder surely hoped.

In fact, Caruso hasn’t shot as well (27% on 3s) as Giddey, who’s hitting them at a 33% clip in Chicago. It’s worth remembering that even a third of the way through the season, those samples still aren’t particularly large. The DARKO projection system suggests Caruso can be expected to shoot 37% from 3-point range going forward, as compared to 33% for Giddey.

If Caruso shoots an average 3-point percentage or better, it becomes easier for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to play him when the game slows down. Caruso has played fewer than five minutes in clutch situations, as defined by NBA Advanced Statistics (score within five points in the last five minutes of regulation or during overtime). Daigneault has favored guards Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe in closing lineups, but Caruso provides more size and defensive versatility with those groups.

Extending Caruso clarifies Oklahoma City’s cap situation going forward. The Thunder now have all 14 players under guaranteed contract signed through 2025-26, and still are comfortably shy of the luxury-tax line next season.

The Oklahoma City core will get far more expensive in 2026-27, when Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams come off their rookie contracts. Team options for a number of players that season — Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Joe and Kenrich Williams — will give the Thunder the ability to manage its luxury-tax bill while deciding which players are keepers starting in 2027-28. By then, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will likely start a supermax extension that could force tougher decisions.

Down the road, it’s possible Caruso’s salary could become an issue for Oklahoma City. This extension takes him through age 35, by which point Caruso’s declining athleticism might make it more difficult for him to defend bigger opponents. The Thunder’s stockpile of future first-round picks gives them the ability to get out of this contract if needed, and the downside risk is more than acceptable if Caruso makes the difference in Oklahoma City advancing in the playoffs now.