Keyonte George’s contract is a real bargain at $157.5M over four years, but the incentives make it even more impressive.
Shreyas Laddha had great coverage of the contract, and you can read more about it here.
Before we get to the incentives, I loved some of the reasoning behind the contract and the Jazz’s bet on Keyonte George. This quote from Laddha is especially interesting.
For the Jazz, this contract extension isn’t contingent on just one season of excellent play. It’s a mix of different factors,
including how George played against good teams in big moments, the source said.
One example: George often held his own late in games against playoff teams, and people within the organization noticed that even amid last season’s lottery push.
Those moments weren’t the only factors in the Jazz’s decision, though. Other things stood out, like his character, talent and work ethic.
For those who watched the tanking season, it was clear how good Keyonte George was. Sure, they were trying to lose, but that was mostly in fourth quarters and when they rested certain players. But there were many nights when Keyonte George got to play against the best teams. In fact, you could argue he faced more good teams than bad because they had to rest him to lose against the worst teams.
Considering the toughness of the competition coinciding with improvement in George’s game, the Jazz are right to bet on the improvement in George’s game. If anything, we should see his game improve with better talent around him. Keyonte George played a lot of minutes next to G League players and developmental players with big flaws in their game. What happens when George is surrounded every night by top-tier talent?
Now for the incentives. Here are George’s incentives during his contract.
George also has about $500,000 in incentives each season. The incentives are primarily based on playoff wins and availability. For example, George would earn $100,000 for playing 65 of 82 games and another $100,000 bonus for each playoff series the Jazz win.
He’ll also get a small bonus for team defense while he’s on the court. In total, George has five different $100,000 bonuses per season.
So the incentives we know of for George are playoff series wins, regular-season availability, and defense. It’s a great window into what the Jazz expect during this contract. A playoff series win with this team is absolutely attainable, and one of the ways to do that is through team defense. I LOVE that type of incentive because it shows an understanding of what the team wants from George.
Earlier in the article, the Jazz are also mentioned as saying they care most about wins with George and not simply points scored. The points will come, but winning matters more. I continue to think that George is going to have a big assists season and an uptick in his steal rate. He’s a very smart player with untapped potential in those areas, and this team is built for him to take the next step. The Jazz understood that when they built this contract.
