By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-08-14 06:04:35
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
NBA休赛期已然深入，但受限制自由球员市场中，一些知名球员仍未签约。乔纳森·库明加 (Jonathan Kuminga)、卡姆·托马斯 (Cam Thomas)、昆廷·格莱姆斯 (Quentin Grimes) 和约什·吉迪 (Josh Giddey) 目前都与各自的母队陷入了续约僵局，并且正面临着一个缺乏薪资空间的自由市场。
尽管这对球员而言颇为不幸，但这恰恰说明受限制自由球员制度正在按其初衷运作。更糟的是，由于新版劳资协议的限制，各支球队在支出方面普遍变得更加谨慎，并且似乎比以往任何时候都更愿意利用他们手中的筹码。
当前的行情足以让未来有资格成为受限制自由球员的选手们感到警惕，并促使他们在收到续约合同时签字画押。这正是为什么杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 可能不得不接受一份对球队极为有利的合同，以确保拿到薪水，否则他将在明年夏天面临尴尬处境。
在探讨索汉的情况之前，我们先简单解释一下刚结束新秀合同的球员所面临的受限制自由球员制度是如何运作的。持有球员合同权利的母队必须提供一份为期一年的资质报价，以获得优先匹配权，这使得他们能够匹配该球员与其他球队签下的任何报价合同。球员可以选择接受这份资质报价，打完这个赛季，然后在次年夏天成为完全自由球员。但由于风险巨大，很少有人会这么做。大多数球员要么与母队续约，要么与另一支球队签订报价合同，然后由母队决定是否匹配，要么尝试推动一次必须由母队同意的先签后换。从本质上说，如果一支球队想要留下一名受限制自由球员，或者通过他换回些什么，他们总能做到。主动权一直掌握在球队手中，只是过去他们未必总会利用这一点。而今年夏天的情况正在开创一个先例：事情可能正在起变化。
说回索汉。他已经有资格提前续约，因为他即将进入联盟的第四个赛季。如果他不签下续约合同，他将在2026年夏天成为一名受限制自由球员。以往，马刺都会与履行完新秀合同的自家球员续约，凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 都在无需试水自由市场的情况下就拿到了合同。如果管理层仍然看好索汉的潜力，那么与他续约也是合乎逻辑的。但如果马刺决定采取强硬立场，并利用近期受限制自由球员市场的僵局作为压价的核心论据，向索汉的经纪人团队开出一份低价合同，那也毫不奇怪。毕竟，索汉真的愿意在明年夏天，当各队薪金空间枯竭时苦等一份合同，并且像今年的托马斯一样，其比赛表现被置于显微镜下审视吗？
索汉可以选择赌自己一把，寄望于在打出一个出色的第四赛季后能获得更多薪水，但除非他能取得现象级的巨大进步，否则市场上不太可能对他有强烈的兴趣。明年夏天会有球队拥有薪金空间，但其中一些会是像奇才和篮网这样的年轻重建队伍，他们可能更倾向于出租他们的薪金空间以换取资产，而不是为一名非明星的年轻球员开出一份反正都会被母队匹配的合同——除非那是一份巨额溢价合同。而那些预计将拥有薪金空间的强队，如湖人和快船，他们寻求的要么是明星球员，要么是能助其争冠的关键拼图，索汉并不符合这两种类型。他很年轻，是一名出色的持球防守者，但他投射能力的欠缺，尤其使他难以融入许多球队的阵容。他在其他方面的贡献足以让他获得一份长期合同，但他并非即插即用型的球员。
马刺在与索汉的任何续约谈判中都手握巨大的主动权，这一点怎么强调都不为过。他们甚至还有时间优势，可以一直等到常规赛开始前一天再与他签约。如果双方未能达成协议，由于优先匹配权的存在以及这位年轻前锋届时可能面临的有限市场，马刺应该也能在一年后他进入受限制自由球员市场时，以一个不错的价格留住他。联盟的消费方式已不如往昔，但如果2026年有球队选择溢价报价，而银黑军团决定放手——就像他们过去对博班·马里亚诺维奇 (Boban Marjanovic) 和乔纳森·西蒙斯 (Jonathon Simmons) 等人所做的那样——那也将完全是他们自己的决定。马刺拥有健康的薪金表，可以轻松容纳一份中等规模的合同，尤其是在约翰逊的合同即将到期的情况下。
马刺也有可能为了避免任何潜在的嫌隙，干脆地给自家球员一份满意的合同。毕竟索汉是他们选中并培养的球员，而且据各方消息，无论在更衣室还是在球场上，他都是一个积极的存在，他的防守和强韧度都非轻易可以替代。或许，在经过一个夏天的苦练并随波兰国家队征战后，他的投篮已经有所改观。又或许，管理层希望以尽可能少的干扰开启新赛季。
但如果续约谈判耗时良久，也请不要感到意外，因为圣安东尼奥在等待索汉降低他的期望值。利用劳资协议赋予的权力地位本无可厚非。如果他们决定动用自己的筹码——这似乎是明智之举——马刺应该能以一份球队友好型合同锁定这位前途光明的年轻球员，并延续其一系列出色的阵容构建决策。
点击查看原文：How the NBA’s restricted free agency stalemates can help the Spurs extend Jeremy Sochan for cheap
How the NBA’s restricted free agency stalemates can help the Spurs extend Jeremy Sochan for cheap
The NBA is deep into its offseason, and some notable names remain unsigned in restricted free agency. Jonathan Kuminga, Cam Thomas, Quentin Grimes, and Josh Giddey are in a stalemate with their current teams and facing a market that lacks spending power.
As unfortunate as it is for those players, restricted free agency is working as intended. Making matters worse, teams in general are more cautious of spending because of the restrictions of the new CBA and seemingly more willing than before to use the leverage they have.
The current environment should scare players who are eligible for restricted free agency in the future into signing extensions, if offered. Which is why Jeremy Sochan might have to accept an extremely team-friendly deal to secure a payday, or face an uncomfortable situation next summer.
Before exploring Sochan’s situation, a simple explanation about how restricted free agency works for players coming out of their rookie contracts. The teams that hold their rights have to extend a qualifying offer for one year to get the right of first refusal, which allows them to match any offer sheet the player signs. The player can accept that qualifying offer, play the year out, and enter unrestricted free agency the next summer. Very few have done it, as it involves a lot of risk. Most either sign with their incumbent team, sign an offer sheet with a different franchise that their incumbent team can then match, or try to work on a sign-and-trade that the incumbent team has to agree to. Essentially, if a team wants to retain a restricted free agent or get something back for them, they will. They’ve always had all the leverage, but in the past weren’t always willing to use it. This summer is setting a precedent that things might be changing.
Back to Sochan. He’s extension-eligible, as he’s about to enter his fourth year in the league. If he doesn’t sign an extension, he’ll become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2026. In the past, the Spurs have extended their guys on rookie deals, with both Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell getting their money without having to test free agency. It would make sense to do the same with Sochan, assuming the front office is still high on his potential, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them decide to play hardball and use the threat of the recent stalemates in restricted free agency as their core argument for going low on an offer to Sochan’s representatives. After all, does Sochan really want to be left waiting for a payday next summer as money dries up and everyone puts his game under a microscope like Cam Thomas has this summer?
Sochan could decide to bet on himself and hope for more money after a good fourth season, but it’s unlikely there would be a strong market for him, barring massive, outlier-level improvement. There will be teams with cap space next summer, but some will be young rebuilding squads like the Wizards and Nets that might prefer to rent out their room for assets instead of making an offer to a non-star young guy that will get matched anyway unless it’s a gigantic overpay. The good teams that are expected to be under the cap, like the Lakers and Clippers, will be looking for either a star or a piece that pushes them over the top, and Sochan doesn’t fit either category. He’s young and a great on-ball defender, but his lack of shooting in particular makes him a rough fit for a lot of rosters. He brings enough to the table in other areas to be worth keeping long term, but he’s not a plug-and-play guy.
It’s hard to overstate how much leverage the Spurs have in any extension talks with Sochan. They even have time on their side, as they can wait until the day before the regular season starts to sign him to one. If they fail to reach an agreement, they should be able to retain him for a good price if he enters restricted free agency a year from now because of the rights of first refusal and the potentially limited market the young forward could have. The league is not spending like it did in he past, but if someone overpays in 2026 and the Silver and Black decide to move on, like they did with Boban Marjanovic and Jonathon Simmons, among others, in the past, it will be solely their decision. They have a tidy cap sheet that could accommodate a medium-sized contract with ease, especially with Johnson’s expiring soon.
It’s possible the Spurs simply decide to pay their guy to avoid any potential bad blood. They drafted and developed Sochan, and he’s, by all accounts, a good presence in the locker room and certainly on the hardwood, where his defense and toughness would not be easily replaceable. Maybe the shot is looking better after a busy summer working on it and spending time with the Polish national team. Maybe the front office wants to go into the season with as few distractions as possible.
But don’t be surprised if it takes a while to get an extension done, as San Antonio waits for Sochan to lower his expectations. There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of a position of power created by the collective bargaining agreement. If they decide to flex their leverage, which seems like the smart thing to do, the Spurs should be able to lock down a promising young player to a team-friendly deal and continue a streak of good roster-building decisions.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock