To nobody's surprise, Thunder general manager Sam Presti told Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears that the team would try to sign both James Harden and Serge Ibaka as soon as they're eligibile for extensions, which will be July 1st when free agency officially begins. After Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the two are regarded as Oklahoma City's best players.
Both Harden and Ibaka will become restricted free agents at the end of next season, and given the team's stature as a small market team that's already signed two players to max deals, it's believed they'll be able to keep only one of them. If Harden chooses not to accept an extension offer and hit free agency in the following offseason, it's expected he'll command as much as $10MM per year, which would seriously limit the Thunder's cap flexibility moving forward.
Serge Ibaka is one of the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year, and James Harden is the favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year. Both players are only 22-years-old.
Tough call. Make it Harden if you can, I suppose.