The Oklahoma City Thunder just won their first championship in franchise history. Behind a core of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder’s 2022 draft class of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, they became the second youngest team to ever win a title. This era of Thunder basketball is set up to continue.
Advertisement
As a matter of fact, ring chasers won’t even have a chance to join OKC, as the team already has all 15 of its roster slots filled. The roll is largely locked in, pending a few extensions for those aforementioned 2022 draftees.
On a recent episode of All the Smoke, Matt Barnes focused on how expensive the Thunder could get. He also noted how quickly they could be stuck making difficult decisions, just as the Boston Celtics are forced to do now after a second-round exit.
“Chet and JDub, both came in the 2022 draft, will be on the final year of their rookie contracts,” started Barnes, “and to me, both of those guys fall into the max extension situation for these younger players … If they’re able to keep their big three, they’re gonna lose their role players.”
Both Chet and Jalen are in line for five-year, $247 million max extensions. While Holmgren cannot reach the benchmarks to qualify for higher value due to his injury-filled 2024-25 season, Williams made both second team All-Defense and third team All-NBA. Jalen could see his offer grow to $296 million if he can make either of those teams again next year.
Contracts are getting more expensive. A few years ago, that near $50 million mark was a supermax deal, reserved for former MVPs and Bradley Beal for some reason. Today’s supermax offers are comparatively shocking. SGA would be making $81 million during the final year of his contract. That is nearly as much as Michael Jordan made during his whole NBA career.
According the Barnes, those numbers will only grow higher. With TV deals coming down the pipe, “We’re heading towards $100 million deals in the next five years; $100 million per year for these star players.”
While revenue share remains the same, the actual dollar amount keeps growing. It’s hard for people like myself, who remember when $12 million dollars a year got you an MVP like Kevin Garnett, to see those tallies at face value. Either way, with a core of young players and money to spend, OKC will almost definitely retain all of their important members.
