Hidden secret behind Hawks' Dyson Daniels extension underscores his impact

It has been a wild offseason for the Atlanta Hawks. After a series of unexpected trades and sneaky free agent signings, the organization only had one order of business left to take care of: come to terms on a contract extension with Dyson Daniels.

It took awhile for this deal to get done, and for good reason. If the Hawks decided to ink him to an extension sooner, it would have likely resulted in an overpay. Instead, they stood ten toes down and gave their breakout guard a reasonable contract.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, just three hours before the rookie-scale extension deadline, "Atlanta Hawks All-Defensive guard Dyson Daniels has agreed to a four-year, $100 million rookie contract extension with the franchise, agent Daniel Moldovan of Lighthouse Sports Management tells ESPN."

Contracts have been a major storyline all offseason, not just for the Atlanta Hawks, but for most teams around the league. The Chicago Bulls had a major financial controversy this summer with their versatile 23-year-old guard, Josh Giddey.

Giddey and his camp wanted a higher number than the team originally offered, making this situation similar to that of Atlanta's. After a long offseason of negotiations, setbacks and disagreements, the Bulls ended signing Giddey to a 4-year, $100 million contract.

This was the same deal on paper that Dyson Daniels ended up getting. These two receiving the same contract numbers was no coincidence, as they both share the same agent. Daniel Moldovan of Lighthouse Sports Management has been handling negotiations all summer for both Australian guards.

Daniels and Giddey are far apart as players, but will be on similar deals for the next four years.

While the overall structure of the deals may be the same, the way in which they were offered was entirely different. The Bulls made it clear that they did not want to re-sign Giddey for that amount, but his camp was firm on not taking any less.

After realizing they had little leverage in the situation, Chicago ended up giving him the contract at the last minute in order to not lose him. The Hawks and Daniels, however, had mutual interest in coming to a compromise in their negotiations.

Moldovan set the price high. It was first reported that Daniels would want the same contract as Jalen Johnson: 5 years, $150 million ($30 million annually). Atlanta's offers were more in the range of 5 years, $115 million ($23 million annually).

Neither side wanted Daniels to hit restricted free agency next summer like Giddey did, so they came to an agreement that seems fair: 4 years, $100 million. Not only does this lock up Daniels until his age-27 season, but it ensures that Atlanta will have future financial flexibility to build along the way.

The Hawks will not have to worry about a team swooping in and stealing Daniels next summer. The work of Daniel Moldovan should be recognized as both of his top players are now paid, regardless of the situation surrounding them.