These 4 players will get a huge pay rise this summer

The combination of the Coronavirus and a tense relationship with China will have some serious financial implications for the NBA going forward. Yahoo Sport has predicted that the cap could fall anywhere from $4.6 million to $8.3 million next year. This affects the max a player can sign for as max deal amounts are determined by a percentage of the salary cap.

This isn’t the best summer for players hoping to sign new deals. Players that have contracts with a player option like Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond will be more likely to exercise them hoping that next summer everything will have calmed down and they can sign the supermax deals they want and deserve.

No matter what the current financial climate, there are some players out there that stand to get a huge pay-rise. These are the guys in the final year of their deals and have shown that they deserve a lot more than what they are getting right now.

Here are my top 4 guys who stand to get a big contract once free-agency stars.

4. Joe Harris

This season was a write-off for the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie Irving barely played due to injury and Kevin Durant hasn’t played a single minute due to his Achilles tear. Next season we’ll see if Kyrie and KD can lead the Nets to title-contention.

One thing that will really help them is if the Nets can keep sharpshooter Joe Harris on the roster. Floor-spacing is critical for drivers like Irving and Durant and Harris is one of the best in the NBA. He hit 41.2% of his 3s this season and lead the league in 3P% last season (47.4%).

Harris only made $7.7 million this season. He’s worth at least double that for a team with title aspirations, if not more.

3. Malik Beasley

Although this season was another dismal one for the Minnesota Timberwolves, there is cause for hope going forward. The Wolves managed to offload Andrew Wiggins for D’Angelo Russell and they acquired Malik Beasley from the Denver Nuggets.

In the 14 games Beasley played with the Wolves he was very impressive. He averaged 20.7 points per game and shot 42.6% from 3, hitting 3.5 triples a game. Those are some very impressive stats for a 23-year-old shooting guard.

Minnesota could have themselves a versatile young core with Beasley, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell if they do the right thing and pay Beasley the money he deserves. Beasley was only paid $2.7 million last season. In normal circumstances, his performance would warrant a salary 10x that in today’s NBA where great shooting is so valuable.

2. Fred VanVleet

Another young player that has really burst onto the scene this season is Toronto’s Fred VanVleet. The experience of winning a championship has done wonders for his career as he was averaging 17.6 points and 6.6 assists with 1.9 steals before the season stopped.

Kyle Lowry is coming to the end of his career, and with Pascal Siakam emerging as an All-Star forward, Toronto needs to make sure they upgrade VanVleet’s current $9 million salary. Toronto can continue to be a force in the Eastern Conference for the next 5 years if they can keep VanVleet, Siakam and add some other players around them.

1. Brandon Ingram

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. For Brandon Ingram, it was best served by taking the league by storm. After being traded by the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Ingram made it his mission to show the Laker’s front office what they missed out on.

Ingram became a first-time All-Star this season after averaging 24.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. He is looking more and more like Kevin Durant every day thanks to his scoring ability, slim frame and 7’3” wingspan.

Ingram was only paid $7.3 million this season which was the last year of his rookie deal. He is worth at least 3x that and the Pelicans have a huge amount of cap space going forward thanks to having a young team and some expiring deals.