During his end-of-season press conference, Sam Presti admitted the Oklahoma City Thunder are ready to back up the Brink’s trucks when the time comes.
After back-to-back All-NBA First Team selections, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be eligible to sign a supermax extension as early as the 2025 offseason. He’s under contract for three more years at $115 million in his current deal that’ll expire after the 2026-27 season.
This is a bargain of a deal as the Thunder roster one of the best players in the league on their title contender roster for well below his market value with no opt-outs for the next three years.
The 25-year-old has ascended into one of the best players in the league. He’s had back-to-back top-five MVP finishes, including runner-up this past season. He averaged 30.9 points on 54% shooting, 6.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds.
If Gilgeous-Alexander signs an extension next summer, he’d be set to a four-year, $294.3 million deal that’ll keep him in OKC through the 2030-31 season.
According to Presti, the Thunder will be ready to pay when the time comes. He said Gilgeous-Alexander’s development has afforded him the generational wealth.
“Good for him. That’s a lot of money. He’s earned that position,” Presti said. “Several years ago when we traded Chris Paul and handed the ball off to him, he didn’t know what would happen. But he has seized the moment and the opportunity.”
Presti compared Gilgeous-Alexander’s tenure with the Thunder to the Denver Nuggets — who won a championship last season after several playoff runs with the same core. Nikola Jokic has been a staple in Denver since 2014.
“I think the thing that’s happened in Denver and other places that have long strings of success is this concept of mutual commitment,” Presti said. “I think you need to have a mutual commitment with your best players with respect to the supermax.”
Presti later reassured that he doesn’t believe finances will be a problem for negotiations with Gilgeous-Alexander. A noteworthy response considering the Thunder will get very expensive, very soon with the impending extensions of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams next offseason.
“I hope I’m not breaking a rule. But if Shai earns something like that, we need to be in position to provide that and not at the expense of the other players on the team,” Presti said. “As well, where it’s, ‘Hey, because of that, we can’t give you this. We can give you that.’… The trust is, ‘Hey, we need you to be mutually committed to the Thunder, all in on the Thunder, in sickness and in health.’
“There’s going to be some tough times… Some people at the first drop want to get off the ride. In Denver, I think there has been a mutual commitment to get through some difficult periods of time, and they’ve stuck together, and you don’t really hear a lot of noise about this person’s fault or not enough this or not enough that.”
As each summer progresses, Gilgeous-Alexander’s long-term future with the Thunder will become an even bigger storyline and cloud hanging over the organization.
The quickest way to nip that in the bud is by nonchalantly locking Gilgeous-Alexander’s prime down in OKC and keeping him with the Thunder until he’s at least 32 years old.
It’ll be an expensive price to pay, but such is life in the NBA for a championship window.
“I think he’s really proud of what he has built here,” Presti said about Gilgeous-Alexander. “… I also think he doesn’t have anyone in his ear telling him not to be proud of it… I think he doesn’t have anyone telling him not to be proud of what he’s accomplishing.”
