[Saba Sports News] According to renowned insider Shams, Victor Wembanyama has agreed to an early five-year $252 million max contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs. Notably, Wembanyama voluntarily waived the eligible supermax provision and took a pay cut of nearly $50 million on this new deal. As the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history, Wembanyama would have qualified for a supermax contract worth 30% of the salary cap (approximately $301 million over five years) if he plays at least 65 games next season and earns any one of the following honors: a spot on an All-NBA Team, MVP or DPOY award. Instead, Wembanyama opted to sign a standard max contract valued at 25% of the league’s salary cap. He stated that accumulating wealth has never been his top priority. By taking less money, he intends to ease the team’s salary-cap burden and help the Spurs retain their current young core group in full.
The editor believes that Victor Wembanyama’s decision evokes memories of Spurs legend Tim Duncan, who repeatedly took voluntary pay cuts late in his career to preserve the team’s title-contending competitiveness.