Royce O'Neale is a name casual NBA fans may not recognize.
However, GMs around the league recognize him is the kind of role player teams need to win. O’Neale is asked to guard the opposing team’s best wing player nightly, while on the other end of the court he’s shooting 44.3 percent from three. He’s become a critical part of Utah’s rotation.
So the Jazz have locked him up with a contract extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Utah Jazz forward Royce O’Neale has agreed to a four-year, $36 million contract extension, agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of @caa_sports told ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 19, 2020
The Jazz — who have won 16-of-18 — just got Mike Conley back in the rotation, and have jumped up to a top-four seed in the West (as of this writing). Things are looking up, and also they have set themselves up well financially for the future.
2020/21 Jazz cap info: Post Royce O’Neale extension
*14 players under contract including 1st rd. pick
* $18M below the projected tax
* Still have $9.8M midlevel and $3.9M biannual exception
* Free agents: J. Clarkson (bird) and E. Mudiay (non-bird)— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 19, 2020
Bigger bills are coming in Utah, in the summer of 2021 the Jazz will need to max out Donovan Mitchell with an extension plus re-sign Rudy Gobert. Which is why locking in a quality role player like O’Neale at a fair price now is a smart move.