Hawks: Kevin Huerter agrees to four-year, $65 million contract extension

In the final hour before the deadline, the Hawks and Kevin Huerter have agreed on a rookie contract extension. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, it is a four-year, $65 million extension.

Atlanta Hawks guard Kevin Huerter has agreed on a four-year, $65 million rookie contract extension, @PrioritySports agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 18, 2021

 

Travis Schlenk stated in a preseason press conference in September that he would like to get the extension done before the start of the regular season, which happened to be finalized in the waning minutes before the 6:00 PM EST deadline. Hawks’ head coach Nate McMillan commented on the same topic some time ago telling reporters that he had his “fingers crossed” that an extension with Huerter gets done soon.

After his Game 7 heroics against the 76ers, Red Velvet has become a fan favorite in Atlanta. On the road, he dropped 27 points to clinch an Eastern Conference Finals birth. Huerter was McMillan’s go-to guy coming off the bench and was arguably the team’s most impressive defender. It was never a question of whether the team should extend Huerter, it is what price the team should extend Heuerter at? 

I covered this exact topic in August and came away thinking a three-year extension worth $45-50 million was fair. However, I stated that I also wouldn’t be surprised if Schlenk decided to give him an additional year worth around $65-70 million in total which is exactly what he did. It is excellent for both parties because Huerter gets what he deserves, while Schlenk avoided overpaying.

Eventually, Huerter, among other Hawks, could be included in a trade for a superstar caliber player to pair with Trae Young because of how movable these contracts are. Schlenk is masterful at the helm; he’s perfectly positioned the Hawks to compete for championships right now and in the future.

Huerter is critical to the team’s overall success. He’s much longer than people realize and is deceptively athletic. With an impressive mid-range game and knock-down capabilities, Huerter can score points on and off the ball. Having a legit 3-and-D role player that is only 22-years-old averaging 11.2 points per game on 37.6 percent shooting from three-point range in 200 regular-season games is invaluable.