The deadline to sign players to a contract extension came and went at 5:00 PM CT today, and one player whose name never came up is Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan, who was eligible to sign his rookie contract extension.
Sochan isn’t the only key player from the the 2022 draft class who didn’t sign an extension, with other key names including Walker Kessler, Bennedict Mathurin and Tari Eason.
It may come as a bit of a blow to Sochan that he didn’t get an early extension. It has not been said why there was no agreement, but there could be a number of reasons, be it they were far apart on his value, maybe he felt he had more to prove and could earn a higher payday next summer, and/or perhaps the team had concerns about his ever-growing injury history.
Regardless, Sochan will have another season to prove his worth, and he can definitely do that if he remains the Spurs’ best perimeter defender and improves on his outside shooting. He can still sign an extension next summer (a recent example of a player not signing a contract after year three but doing so after year four would be Santi Aldama), and if not, he will become a restricted free agent if the Spurs pick up his qualifying offer (meaning they can continue to negotiate with him or have the opportunity to match any offer he receives from another team). If they don’t reach an agreement or pick up his qualifying offer, then he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Sochan has been a very solid contributor for the Spurs in his three years, when healthy. Drafted 9th overall in 2022, he has averaged 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting a career high 53.5% from the field, 30.8% from three last season. He has endured a couple of years of playing in experimental positions, including at point guard during his second season and center last season. He has developed good high-low chemistry with Victor Wembanyama and is a reliable three-pointer away from being one of the best role players in the league.
Hopefully he can stay healthy and prove his worth to the Spurs this upcoming season. He is expected to miss at least the season opener against Dallas on Wednesday after suffering a mild wrist sprain while working himself back into shape from a calf strain while playing with Team Poland in the summer.
