Pelicans players who have until Oct. 21 to sign an extension

October 21 marks a huge day for the 2024-25 NBA season. Firstly, it's the official tip-off eve, with two primetime matchups slated the following day on Tuesday night October 22, featuring the defending champion Boston Celtics taking on the new-look New York Knicks followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves versus the Los Angeles Lakers. More importantly, though, October 21 is the deadline for teams to offer their eligible players a rookie-scale contract extension.

This deal is reserved for players in the fourth and final year of their initial rookie contract. This year's deadline is for the prospects from the 2021 NBA Draft. Teams were able to extend these players starting on the first day of the league year, which began in the offseason on July 1. Some of the biggest names from the draft have already inked their new agreements, including Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley.

Other teams, like the New Orleans Pelicans, have yet to reach a deal with their eligible players. The only Pelican still awaiting a rookie-scale extension is Trey Murphy III. It's undeniable that TMIII is a player that New Orleans would like to keep around for the long haul, so it may be alarming that he's yet to sign his extension, as he'll hit restricted free agency next summer if the Pelicans don't reach a deal with Murphy before October 21.

He's hardly the only talented player from the 2021 draft who hasn't signed an extension yet, though. Along with him are players like Jalen Johnson, Alperen Sengun, and Jalen Green. With just a few days left on the clock, the Pelicans need to make Trey Murphy III's rookie-scale extension their number one priority ahead of the season.

Will Trey Murphy III sign his rookie-scale extension with the New Orleans Pelicans?

This summer provided some conflicting signs about Murphy III's potential extension. First, New Orleans scored a huge deal on Jose Alvarado's two-year, $9 million extension. That bargain opened up further flexibility for Vice President David Griffin and the Pelicans brass to work with, including, hopefully, inking Murphy to a new deal eventually.

Despite Alvarado's frugal new contract, New Orleans also had some real issues working against them in regards to Murphy's extension. He's not the only player on the Pelicans in need of a new contract. Brandon Ingram is also eligible to sign an extension this year, although they'll have until June 30, 2025 to reach an agreement there. But, with Ingram's future up in the air and a four-year, $200 million max contract on the table, it makes extending Murphy III a much more complicated issue.

Trey Murphy also suffered a hamstring injury that held him out for the entirety of training camp and the preseason. The Pelicans already have plenty of his film to go off of and it's very clear that he's deserving of an extension, but not having him available for those festivities certainly threw a wrench in the works.

In the end, though, I do expect to see the Pelicans and Murphy III reach an agreement before the deadline. Otherwise, they run the risk of getting priced out of re-signing him next summer by a team flush with cash that's looking for a young, rangy wing with elite outside shooting tools.