Meyers Leonard Extension Deadline Moved

ESPN’s Marc Stein reports that the NBA extension deadline (October 31 in most years) has been drawn out to November 2 for the 2015-16 season. While this news is just surfacing now, it is not a sudden change. Per Collective Bargaining Agreement guru Larry Coon, the 2011 CBA clearly outlines that "the deadline is the following business day if October 31 falls on a weekend or holiday."

For the Portland Trail Blazers, this means that they have an additional two days to sign hybrid center Meyers Leonard to an extension. If they are unable to do so, or do not wish to do so, Leonard will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2016. Blazers GM Neil Olshey previously stated on The Lowe Post podcast that his preference is to wait until the last minute for these types of negotiations, so it is unlikely that anything will be officially inked until later this month.

I actually prefer to have those conversations in October when there is a sense of urgency on both sides and we’re on the clock. Starting conversations like that open-ended where nobody is under the gun, things just don’t get done in a timely manner and it becomes a distraction. So conversations about rookie scales where there is a wider spread in terms of compensation, I just think those are better had closer to the deadline where both sides—agent and team—are much more motivated to get something done, knowing that the clock is running.

Leonard is averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game during the NBA preseason. He is owed $3.1 million in 2015-16.