The 2021 NBA offseason featured a historic number of contract extensions being signed, which will have a domino effect on the landscape of free agency in the future.
In total, 12 players signed veteran extensions, including All-Stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler and Julius Randle.
Two more All-Stars in Luka Doncic and Trae Young joined the above group when they agreed to rookie max extensions in the early part of free agency.
Now the deadline for 2018 first-round picks to sign extensions is in the rearview mirror. Those players who were not extended -- a group that includes No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton -- will enter the 2021-22 regular season on the last year of their existing contracts, looking to prove themselves worthy of big money next summer, when ESPN is projecting teams like the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs to have at least $30 million in cap space.
So what's next for the fourth-year players who didn't get extensions, and the handful of veterans who still might at some point this season?