Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has parted ways with his agents at Wasserman and will represent himself as he prepares to become extension-eligible this offseason, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link).
Gilgeous-Alexander had been represented by Thad Foucher and Joe Smith, per RealGM.
Having made All-NBA teams in both 2023 and 2024, Gilgeous-Alexander has met the performance criteria for a super-max contract and will become eligible to sign that extension with the Thunder this July.
The 2024 MVP runner-up still has two years left on his current deal and can’t exceed six years in total, so the maximum value of his extension would be a projected $293.4MM over four years, beginning in 2027/28.
That projection is based on the cap increasing by the maximum allowable 10% for each of the next three seasons, so it’s possible the final figure will come in a little lower — the deal would start at 35% of the ’27/28 cap and would include 8% raises.
Unlike with Luka Doncic in Dallas, there has been no indication that the Thunder aren’t prepared to put that full super-max offer on the table for Gilgeous-Alexander this summer, which means the negotiation should be fairly straightforward.
While he’ll serve as his own agent as he negotiates that contract with the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander will continue to be represented by Simon Gebrelul of Isla Management for marketing and off-court ventures, according to Haynes.
Gilgeous-Alexander is currently the betting favorite to be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player this season. The 26-year-old guard is averaging a league-leading 32.5 points per game on .523/.359/.897 shooting while also contributing 6.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.0 block per night for the 44-10 Thunder.
Way to fire representation right before you sign a super max contract.
He is not firing representation. He’s firing his agent.
His lawyers will look over the contract to make sure everything is good. He’s doing what many choose as their path today in business.
With the salary cap he already knows the dollar amount and years of his next contract. Why would he need to pay an agent 3 or 4% of $300 million ?
He has a lawyer or a team handling all of his business.., why can’t they look at his NBA contract also?
I think it’s a smart move. No-brainer in fact.
It’s the rare case in sports where a guy knows 100% his book value, and should focus on not getting burned in the fine print; so there is objectively no reason to give a fee to an agent.
Checkmate for this kid
Lmao, is the suggestion that he owes loyalty to an agent who can’t help him secure even 1 extra dollar he can’t secure all by himself? He should pay 12 million over 4 years for…. What?
Exactly. I would do the same. Most sports agents are over valued & overpaid. Kinda like real estate agents!
Why hire an agent to say “hey, give us the papers to sign the supermax”?
SGA going the Harden route here saves like 10-15% fees
Yes the John Stockton way
lmaooo my boy needs all that. i get it though, what is there for the agent to really do?
The extension was always a lock ! Sga may or may not spend the rest of his prime with the thunder but he was never gonna reach free agency! He can extend on his bird rights and in this case supermax and demand a trade later if he ever wants to leave
OKC better get ready to open up their wallet he will get a max contract. They will be over the tax line but luckily will not effect them until 2029/2027 season when they will need to make the tough decisions.
This is the dent in the armor for the thunder. They got to this point last time also and had to let a few guys go.
They had a dynasty and let it expire before ultimate realization in rings. Will it happen again? I’m thinking yes.
I see a 2 and a half year window then unless the GM does a great job their window will be closing.
A dynasty than never won even once. Those three guys weren’t dynasty material. A combined 0 rings in almost 2 decades.
Yes correct Booga, I should’ve written potential dynasty. But even then, who knows? Good comment.
> They had a dynasty and let it expire before ultimate
> realization in rings. Will it happen again? I’m thinking
> yes.
Gary, You don’t miss many, but you’re wrong here.
There’s no way to guarantee rings, but I’m betting the Thunder remain in the Top 3 most talented teams for the next 8 years. They have 15 (“FIFTEEN”) firsts in the next 5 years along with 12 seconds. That virtually guarantees they’ll have the DEEPEST AND CHEAPEST BENCH in the league, just like now, only better.
It’s also why OKC be able to afford their current best 5-6 players (SGA, JWilliams, Holmgren at their respective max) plus Hartenstein, Dort, and Caruso.
The players that will be squeezed out are the current 7-12, all cheap or on rookie scale, but likely worth starter-level contracts in 2 years: Joe, Wiggins, Wallace, etc. They’ll be replaced by the next wave of FRP’s.
the problem is both Williams, Holmgren, and Dort will all be up for new higher contracts. They will not be able to keep all 4. Maybe 2 but not all 4. That cuts into their depth so they will need to draft very well and their own 1st rounders will be almost 2nd round picks.
I don’t see them resigning Lu Dort. I can see them letting him go. I wouldn’t bet against Sam Pressti to build a sustainable competitive championship caliber ballclub. People forget those unprotected picks by 2028-2030. The big one is the Dallas pick in 2028 which they can swap. Also, the 2025 76ers pick is only top 6 protected and in a loaded draft class such as this one, picking 7th or 8th is essentially like picking 3rd. I can see them drafting another wing guy like Tre Johnson or getting some size (if that picks is conveyed to them).
its going to take good drafting to keep them going. they will also going to be going against the Rockets who stock piled picks and Utah with stock piled picks. CBA was now built to prevent future Dynasties.
Arc the difference is that OKC has Shai who is a superstar and is entering his prime (27 in July). Utah and Houston don’t have one yet on their team. Not saying they can’t draft one but OKC is already ahead of them in that regard and still possess the picks.
Yes raz but I love Lu Dort. I think he’s the heart and soul of that team.
The only similar situation I could see is Marcus Smart and the Celtics. They let him go, but ultimately did not skip a beat.
Jrue Holliday is a stud and so is Porzingis, so the Dort factor left town and they were still fine. Good call raz427.
Gary,
Oh I have no gripes about Lu Dort. I think he’s one of the most underpaid/underappreciated players in the game. When I first saw him in Covid playoffs, he couldn’t make anything and now he’s a threat night in and night out. His drive and dedication to be better than what his label was given to him, I respect that. I hope he lands a very nice contract soon. I wish he was on my team because he would give us SOME identity on defense. Overall very good player and will be a difference maker on a title team (such as this one).
Raz – I agree that if one of OKC’s top 6 is replaceable, it’s Dort. (And I agree that he’s a stud.)
But it’s important to point out that Dort has 2.5 more years on his current deal at a bargain $18M/yr. That’s a long way away.
Aristole,
That 2027/28M is a team option too which no doubt will likely be exercised, if they don’t trade or resign him prior. He’ll be 28 years old. What a great team contract that turned out for them.
Raz , indeed, what a great team contract is Dort’s.
Speaking of great team contracts, we’re only 1/2 way through SGA’s 5 year rookie extension, which pays him $36M this year, only $40M in 2 years from now.
There are posters here who are always appalled at these (seemingly) overpriced 5 year rookie extensions. But they usually look like a bargain 5 years later.
Arc89- that’s incorrect on multiple counts.
1. They have fifteen FRP’s in 5 years. That means at least 10 of them are not their own. And some of their own can be “swapped” at their option. Some will likely be lottery picks. Plus, they can combine picks to move up. Book it: OKC will be loaded for 8 years.
2. They CAN afford to pay all these players through 2029-30, partly because of the 5%-10% annual cap raises, but also because the CBA makes rookie extensions are so cheap relative to the max deals that veterans. For example, Jimmy Butler will make $57M in 2026-27, whereas, assuming max rookie extensions, Holmgren and JWilliams will make $42M. The other factor is that revenue sharing from the new TV deal will be raising the cap ~5-10% each year.
3. For the next 3 seasons (through 2026-27) SGA ($40M), Dort ($17M), Caruso ($17M) and Hartenstein ($29M) are locked in. Assuming max extensions for Holmgren and JWilliams, OKC’s top 6 get paid $185M in 2026-27, which gives plenty of room for 9 rookie scale minimums with the expected 2027 cap.
Anything can change in5 years. One big injury to one of those starters and they will be trading those f r p to make it through the playoffs. They have not won anything yet so let’s dial it down some. OKC is a small market so can they keep spending?? A couple of injuries and they are out of luck.
Having late FRPs is only a problem if you’re searching for a cornerstone. You can still pick up high quality rotation pieces, which is really all they need.
Whomethatguy, good point. And you can include second rounders in that category. An additional benefit is that they are cheaper.
Ari I think your assessment here is right on. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep their top five or so and then the bench will be turned over with new young guys from all those pics.
The only thing I may push back on is that you can’t pay five or six great players. Teams can really only afford three stars, and then 4–6 are role players making less than 10 million.
> The only thing I may push back on is that you can’t
> pay five or six great players. Teams can really only
> afford three stars, and then 4–6 are role players
> making less than 10 million.
That’s a well-stated conventional position that applies to pretty much every NBA team other than OKC, who believe, in 3026-27, you can pay 6 elite players $180M and while paying a collection of 9 young bench players $30M.
I try to explain in a post above. The reasons:
1. Rookie extensions a better value than veteran max.
2. Annual increase to cap of 5%-10%
3. Infinite draft talent enables superior bench at $3.3M per player.
Of course, 3. may never happen again in our lifetime. 15 firsts in 5 years! And they’ve already got a bunch of past high picks waiting in the wings (like Topic)
Gary, Im starting to think the “Red Sox” part of brain causes you to over-hate your own team (common Red Sox fan-brain move, Boston wins the WS and all their fans do is complain and hate their players) to the point where right now you are denigrating the actual dynasty the Warriors are currently in (whether you like it or not, the window is still wide open).
OKC has ZERO “dynasty” by any metric. You MUST win titles. We have to put out collective foot down and red line this.
The Warriors are in a dynasty right now?
I don’t think they made the playoffs last year did they? Lost a play in game?
I think they’re barely holding on and unless this Jimmy thing proves me or should I say us, wrong, then that’s the evidence we’ve seen.
If they get a five or six seed then perhaps they are a solid contender, but this Dynasty talk still applying to today’s team is off base in my opinion.
Yes you are correct. I miss spoke on OKC Dynasty.
The Warriors Dynasty was only until 2019 when they lost to the Raptors and KD left the team. The moment they lost KD, that Warriors Dynasty also ended. The 2022 title is a fluke and I acknowledge that they still won the championship but it is in no way an extended part of their Dynasty.
I see both father and son duo of aristotle and Davey J are back and parading their rose colored glasses.
The SF Giants had a dynasty by winning the title every 2 years, and not even being a dominant team for a full regular season in the years they did win. Matter of fact in all 3 titles, Giants played poorly for months-long stretches. Kinda like GSW this year…
The concept of dynasties meaning “win every single year” is long gone, the goalposts are variable now.
Look whos moving goalposts to fit their narrative.
How ironic.
Huge W, if I was a player I would do the same
good for him, he can more stupid jackets and big red shoes
Richard Sherman did this in the NFL for the reasons Gary cites and several other NFL players have followed suit. It’s nothing new.
Right and as the commentor mentions above, we’re doing it in real estate all the time now.
I really think it helps when there’s a salary cap. In baseball, perhaps it would be beneficial to retain the services of an agent. Years and salary is such a crapshoot that perhaps an agent or not can be the difference between securing millions of dollars or not?
Gary, I remember Richard Sherman saying, something like, he had been told that agents protected the personal relationship between ownership and player by handling the conflict over money.
Sherman said that wasn’t true, and that ownership always blamed the player when negotiation didn’t go well, and that he wanted to have the best possible relationship with ownership. Not all players are like that, but SGA seems like he could be.
Smart kid
SGA obviously made the decision to sign an early extension and forego free agency; which has been the custom among prime age stars of his ilk for quite some time. That being the case, there is really no need for an agent. The CBA not only sets forth the best economic terms he can get, but the form of contract as well. The numbers, years, options, etc. will look exactly the same as every other freshly instituted 35% max extension, and the rest of the contract will look exactly like his existing one.
Of course, if the only issue between SGA and the agents were their fee, then he could have negotiated to pay only a nominal one for an early extension. Maybe they’re being annoying.
Great move…
Cut out the hangers on… That whole side of the industry is shady and really is a waste of time…
We need less jobs for jobs sake…
The narrative that SGA is the favourite to win the MVP is getting old and boring really fast!!!
Everyone and their grandma knows that Jokic is having his best season and is the only deserving winner of the MVP award!
Muting @El don for putting a “u” in favorite.
Thank you for making me laugh.
“Always Wrong” is the only guy that I can see who has muted me so I’m all for poking fun at him once in a while.
Imagine actually muting Gary, he is a treasure around here hahaha
I have my moments when I feel cornered and I bite back, but I regret those later on.
The opinions of others are just as valid as mine and I try to keep that fact in mind at all times.
And if there’s a snarl coming my way I try to Understand there could be more behind it than something I just wrote. Good stuff, Davey.
Edit, I’ll also add Davey, that you are pretty decent at taking major major abuse. I’ve seen you address vicious attacks with a calm word in return quite often. Not easy to do.
Interesting to see you call repeated behavior by certain posters towards me “major major abuse”. Seems like that would be against the terms of service for commenting here?? Does @TallBallers actually ever post about ball, or only about me? Who cares about me, I’m not in the NBA or even on tv! Luke Adams, get TallBallers and his crew of thumbs upping doofuses out of here!
OK, but his opinion is just as valid as yours or mine.
I don’t think he ever uses profanity, he just goes after your basketball opinions and says you’re out of your mind.