What happened: The Charlotte Hornets have signed Brandon Miller to a five-year, $209 million rookie-scale extension, per ESPN. The team announced the signing on October 19 and, per team policy, did not disclose terms. The NBA’s transaction log lists the rookie-scale extension the same day. Miller’s agents, AJ Vaynerchuk and Joey Middleton of VaynerSports, gave ESPN the terms about an hour before the 6 PM ET deadline for 2023 first-round picks.
The terms: The extension starts in 2027-28, per Hoops Rumors. Over five seasons, $209 million divided by 5 equals $41.8 million a year on average. Miller earns $15.1 million in 2026-27, the final season of his rookie-scale contract, per Hoops Rumors.
The comparisons: Amen Thompson signed a five-year, $208 million rookie-scale extension with Houston on September 3, per ESPN. Miller’s reported total is higher by $209 million minus $208 million, which equals $1 million. Among the 2023 draft class, the only larger extension is Victor Wembanyama’s five-year maximum deal with the San Antonio Spurs, projected at $252.3 million, per Hoops Rumors.
The background: Charlotte drafted Miller second overall in 2023, one pick after Wembanyama. Last season he led the Hornets at 20.2 points per game and shot 38.3% on 3-pointers in 65 games, all starts, per the team. He is the seventh player from the 2023 class to sign a rookie-scale extension, per Marc Stein. Stein had expected the class to finish below the average of 11 extensions for the previous three draft classes, per Hoops Rumors.
Primary sources: Charlotte Hornets release; NBA transaction log; ESPN; Shams Charania on X; AP via NBA.com; Hoops Rumors; NBA.com on Amen Thompson; Hoops Rumors on Victor Wembanyama; Marc Stein on X; Hoops Rumors on Stein
Spot an error and it will be corrected here, with the correction noted.