In fact, after completing Sabonis's contract renewal, the Kings offered Tatum and Mitchell 5-year $150 million and 5-year $130 million contract extensions, respectively.
Under the salary cap rules, a team can't have three max-salary players, because the triggered super luxury tax would explode the team's payroll.
In other words, this is the biggest contract the Kings can offer right now.
The result was that Tatum and Mitchell did not accept these early extensions.
Obviously, people pursue benefits, and the goal of winning a championship is to make more money, not to sacrifice their own interests to win the championship.
The good side is that Mitchell and Tatum's rookie contracts expire next season, so they still have time.
2020-2021 is still closed-campus games.
Because of the renewal issues, the Kings experienced two consecutive losses after their opening night victory on championship night.
However, they suddenly seemed to wake up and started an eight-game winning streak.
