5 best value contracts as the NBA heads towards the financial unknown
4. Royce O’Neale (Four years, $36 million)
Every NBA contender needs a Royce O’Neale. A defensive-minded wing who makes up for his 6’6” height with a 6’10” wingspan, allowing him to seamlessly rotate between multiple defensive assignments.
O’Neale compliments his defensive acumen with a 3-point shot that’s developed to 38.9 percent on 3.3 attempts per game this season, making him an ideal 3-and-D weapon to slot alongside the Utah Jazz’s All-Star duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
It’s no surprise O’Neale is part of Utah’s most-used lineup, a five-man crew that pumps out an elite net rating of 13.1. His importance is such that he usurped Joe Ingles in the starting lineup, parlaying his improved play into a four-year, $36 million extension in January.
Jazz need Royce O’Neale to get selfish from deep. light. Related Story
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Of the four Jazz lineups to have seen more than 100 minutes this season, O’Neale is part of three of them. The one he’s absent from is also the only among the quartet with a negative net rating.
A measly 6.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game don’t do O’Neale’s contributions justice, but the value of players of a similar ilk is on the rise. The Jazz found one after he went undrafted out of Baylor and, at only $9 million a year, he figures to be a crucial piece to their potential championship puzzle.