The deadline is eight days away -- Halloween to be exact.
The Warriors have until next Wednesday to decide whether or not to pick up Damian Jones' fourth-year option for the 2019-20 season.
Will they guarantee his $2.3 million salary, or decline and risk losing Jones in unrestricted free agency in July?
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One year ago, the Warriors were in a similar situation with Kevon Looney. In the end, they declined his $2.23 million option -- which made sense at the time. Over his first two seasons combined, Looney appeared in just 57 games after undergoing surgery on both of his hips.
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And outside of a terrifice performance on Oct. 27 against the Wizards, Looney hadn't yet shown the ability to be a reliable rotation player worth that sort of financial commitment.
In hindsight, Golden State made a mistake because Looney -- who turned 22 years old in February -- blossomed into a key contributor who averaged 20 minutes per game over the first 19 playoff games (he barely played in Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals).
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Fortunately for the Warriors, not only were they able to retain Looney after he did not receive any offers in free agency, but he returned on a minimum deal -- worth about $660,000 less than what his fourth-year option would have paid him.
Fast forward to today, and there's no doubt that Jones -- in a small sample size of four games -- has flashed the potential necessary to make the Warriors believe he's worth the $2.3 million for next season.
Jones started against Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic and No. 1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton, and more than held his own. The 23-year old is averaging 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over 21 minutes per game, while shooting an insane 85 percent from the field.
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"This is why we have to have Damian because you think of the past week ... you have to have that kind of size to deal with the position," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters Monday night after the win over Phoenix. "I thought he passed this week's test with flying colors. He's doing really well."
Of Jones' 17 buckets this season, 12 have been dunks and 14 have been assisted (eight from Steph Curry). Quite simply, the Warriors love throwing him lobs because Jones can do things that very few human beings are capable of.
"He's a fun guy to play with because of that," Kerr added. "It's great to have him in the starting group because that's when we have the most shooting out on the floor. And then he gives us that vertical threat that makes it tougher to guard. I think the guys really enjoy playing with him.
"He still can get better defending without fouling because what he's got to understand is he's so physically imposing that he doesn't have to foul -- just make people shoot over the top of you. They're already afraid of you, so don't let them off the hook."
Jones is by no means a finished product, and he still can improve in several areas. But it's probably safe to assume that the Warriors will pick up his option and lock him in on the books for the first season at Chase Center.
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller