AUGUST 6: The Thunder have officially signed Gilgeous-Alexander to his extension, the team announced today in a press release.
“We are excited to have Shai representing our organization for many years to come and couldn’t be happier for him and his family,” Thunder GM Sam Presti said in a statement. “He is a tremendous basketball player, but is also a leader that infuses optimism, confidence and collaboration into all of his interactions professionally and personally. We are looking forward to watching his individual growth and the collective development of our team as we continue on our path toward sustainable success in Oklahoma City.”
AUGUST 2: The Thunder and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have agreed to a five-year, $172MM maximum rookie contract extension, agent Thaddeus Foucher informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Gilgeous-Alexander will still be on his rookie contract for one final season, and is set to make $5,495,532 in 2021/22. His new deal will kick in for the 2022/23 season. The new contract’s precise value will be contingent on exactly where the 2022/23 season cap lands.
As of this writing, Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to earn $29.75MM, based on the new $119MM salary cap projection for the 2022/23 season, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link). SGA would net $39.27MM during the final year of the deal, in 2026/27.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN writes (via Twitter) that the contract will include a 30% “escalator clause” that could increase the $172MM base of the deal into a $207MM agreement, provided Gilgeous-Alexander is voted onto one of the three All-NBA teams in 2022. Woj adds that there are no early termination options for either side in the new extension.
The 6’6″ combo guard was selected with No. 11 pick in the 2018 draft out of Kentucky and enjoyed an All-Rookie Second Team-caliber debut NBA season with the Clippers. He was the key element in a pick-heavy trade that sent All-Star forward Paul George to Los Angeles, and has since proved his mettle in two seasons with Oklahoma City.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 23, missed most of the 2020/21 season’s second half with a plantar fasciitis injury. When he was healthy, he produced at a high level. The 6’6″ 23-year-old averaged 23.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 4.7 RPG in 35 games last year. He posted a solid slash line of .508/.418/.808.
An excellent scorer with room to grow on defense, Gilgeous-Alexander has future All-Star potential. The Thunder were wise to lock him in to a long-term deal, even though the team appears more interested in asset accrual over winning in the short term.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Somewhere in Atlanta, a smile just crossed the face of a young Collin Sexton.
Why? He hasnt been anywhere near as good…I could see him getting 16-18ish million per though
There’s no way Cavs can justify giving Sexton less than $25 mil per. There’s advanced metrics that say he isn’t very good defensively. Same could be said for most of our top guards in the league. Please don’t attempt to tell me SGA is worth $10 mil more per year.
I don’t think the offer was serious, I think they were just testing waters. With this signing, they are probably officially stating that SGA is the future of the franchise. Personally I’m excited for it, and hope he is.
OKC had to (over)pay SGA almost $35M/year to help them stay above the salary floor, that and give Kemba his enormous buyout.
I just don’t get what the Thunder are doing. Offering a guy a maximum salary only a week after offering him for a draft pick. Even if it was the #1 pick, the player is still a complete unknown (and way too arrogant but that is another story). I know SGA couldn’t turn down the money, but it still has to weigh on his mind a bit that he is not the guy they wanted to build around.
It’s similar to when Kobe bought his wife that big diamond ring after his Colorado incident. Get caught fooling around, so buy your baby something shiny.
If the trade rumors are true, I’m glad it didn’t happen. Years from now I believe Detroit will be kicking themselves that they didn’t make that trade. I’m biased for sure but I think SGA will have a better career than CC.
Detroit will be kicking themselves even more for not drafting Green.
Players know the business better than us. Feelings get coated over for what is called reality within the inner circles …and a whole lotta money!
Max contracts are great values for teams and likewise the best a player can do so that’s why we see them so often
If SGA has problems down the road there are certainly ways out…….. but today everybody is happy as they should be
I don’t necessarily love how OKC is doing everything but this ink was huge for them today
THANK GOD!!!
Amen….. I just left a post criticizing OKC on different matters but this was there first, second, and 3rd priority’s and they got it done today
Great job
Joke organization. Paying someone millions to sit around. I just hope they move him soon so he can get back to playing the game he loves instead of counting down 365×5.
Bag alert