It appears unlikely that the Thunder and Reggie Jackson will sign an extension before the deadline to do so at 11:00pm Central on Friday, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The sides had been engaged in active talks as recently as a couple of weeks ago, but it’s unclear whether negotiations continue. GM Sam Presti had reportedly been confident a month ago about striking some sort of deal with the fourth-year guard, but it looks like that if it happens, it’ll take place in restricted free agency next summer rather than in the form of an extension this fall. The Thunder traded James Harden and Jeff Green not long after rookie scale extension talks broke down with those two, Mayberry notes, but Presti has said he has no plans to send Jackson away.
Jackson expressed hope for an extension during a September interview, but in the same conversation he made it clear that he was prepared in case agent Aaron Mintz and the team couldn’t agree to terms this month. Mintz and his partners at Creative Artists Agency are likely to use Eric Bledsoe‘s five-year, $70MM deal with the Suns, Kemba Walker‘s four-year, $48MM extension with the Hornets, and any extension that Ricky Rubio and Brandon Knight might sign as benchmarks for the Jackson talks, Mayberry writes.
The 24-year-old Jackson is suffering from a bruised right wrist and a sprained right ankle and missed Oklahoma City’s regular season opener Wednesday, but he’s expected back in a few days, and the injuries appear unlikely to affect whether he signs an extension. Of greater import is likely whether the Thunder sees him as a long-term solution as a starter in the backcourt next to Russell Westbrook, as Cray Allred of Hoops Rumors wrote when he looked at Jackson’s extension candidacy. Jackson has long expressed a desire to start, and while smaller lineups are in vogue, he and Westbrook are both listed at just 6’3″.