The biggest storyline heading into the offseason for the Oklahoma City Thunder will be how they handle contract negotiations with Josh Giddey.
The 21-year-old wrapped up a roller coaster of a third season in which he averaged a career-low in minutes. It concluded with him being benched in the Thunder’s last two losses in the second-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks,
Giddey is eligible to receive a contract extension this offseason. OKC seldom messes with restricted free agency on players it likes, so what happens this offseason will be a telltale sign of the 21-year-old’s long-term future.
In his exit interview, Giddey was adamant about wanting to stay with the Thunder for the long run — regardless of whether this is the best personnel fit for him.
“I love it here. This is a home away from home. I love everything about this place, the city, the fans,” Giddey said. “The organization top to bottom is just unbelievable people throughout the building, and getting to come here to work every day is a lot of fun. It doesn’t feel like work.”
Thunder general manager Sam Presti didn’t reveal which direction they’ll go with Giddey’s next contract, but he was fully supportive of the season he just had despite his struggles.
“It was an up-and-down year. He would, I think, acknowledge that,” Presti said about Giddey. “He’s 21, so 21-year-olds generally have up-and-down years. …
“No one has the same path, and that’s a big part of player development — in my opinion — is really trying to understand the history, the person, the circumstances in which they’re coming into the league.”
Presti later listed the positive intangibles of Giddey. He noted how a change of role for him from a ballhandling playmaker to the fourth-scoring option was a massive adjustment this past season.
“The thing about Giddey that I really respect is he is tough and he is clutch,” Presti said. “He has been asked to change some things and adjust to different things, and he hasn’t flinched one time.
“He has never — to my knowledge — come to anyone and said, ‘I need more this, I need more that, what about me?’ He’s trying to figure out how to best help the team.”
The mindset is there for Giddey to succeed with the Thunder. It’s now about translating that to tangible results on the court. The biggest area of growth will need to be his outside shot.
Giddey’s had positive strides in that area by working with shooting coach Chip Engelland these past two years. But he will need to make another massive leap this offseason, so defenses can no longer get away with sagging off him in the perimeter.
“He has to get better, but the team also has to get better,” Presti said. “We have to continue to figure out how to lean into the things he does to help amplify our team.
“The idea is to take the thing — he does a couple of things as a passer that are better than 95-99% of the people in the NBA — how do we incorporate that in a way that helps our team?”
