Aaron Wiggins will return to the Thunder on a five-year, $47MM contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The 25-year-old shooting guard became a restricted free agent on Saturday after Oklahoma City declined his $1.989MM option for next season and tendered him a qualifying offer.
That move was a prelude to a long-term deal. Wiggins has become a valuable rotation member during his three years with the team, and the Thunder wanted to lock him down for the future.
The No. 39 player on our list of this summer’s top 50 free agents, Wiggins appeared in 78 games last season, making four starts and averaging 6.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15.7 minutes per night. He also posted .562/.492/.789 shooting splits as OKC tied for the best record in the West at 57-25.
Wiggins was selected with the 55th pick in the 2021 draft after three seasons at Maryland. He turned out to be a bargain on his original four-year, $6.4MM deal, so the team decided to reward him and make sure he’s part of what appears to be a very bright future in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City also agreed to re-sign Isaiah Joe to a long-term deal after declining his option on Saturday. The Thunder will be able to keep both Wiggins’ and Joe’s modest cap holds on their books while using up their cap room, then go over the cap to re-sign them.
Very nice five year deal for a 3 and D player!
It’s great to see OKL reward their own and keep their continuity with Wiggins and Joe.
This is amazing value for them. He plays premium positions, and is a really good 2 way player. I thought he could be a victim of just the overwhelming talent they’ve had, but they managed to keep him, which is the right call