- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to a four-year, $285 million extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- The Thunder may face difficult decisions regarding contract extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
- General Manager Sam Presti has strategically drafted and developed players to create a sustainable and competitive roster.
This is exactly the kind of contract available to a player like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, particularly after such a historic NBA season.
The 26-year-old guard is coming off a season in which he was the scoring champion, regular season Most Valuable Player and NBA Finals MVP, and has reportedly agreed to a four-year supermax extension worth $285 million with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He became only the fourth player in NBA history have completed that trifecta, joining Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Now, Gilgeous-Alexander’s annual average salary of $71.25 million will become the richest in NBA history. It also sets up a complicated calculus the Thunder, the youngest roster in the NBA, must navigate in the coming years.
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Both Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were drafted in 2022 and both are eligible for rookie maximum extensions this summer. Although the extensions would not kick in until the start of the 2026-27 season, Oklahoma City would have a massive amount of salary tied up in three players if it opted to do so.
Williams is more of a priority. A first-time All-Star, Williams emerged as a steady and efficient closer in the playoffs, averaging 23.6 points per game in the NBA Finals, including a 40-point masterpiece in Game 5. He’s 24 and dependable, appearing in 248 of a possible 279 games (including playoffs) in his three seasons.
Holmgren, 23, has shined in moments, but has also been susceptible to occasional sluggish play; his 4-point performance in Game 6 stands out. He has battled injuries early in his career, appearing in just 147 games (including playoffs) over the same span.
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What Thunder roster decisions does GM Sam Presti have to make?
Some players will walk. That’s simply the nature of the contemporary NBA under the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, with its punitive first and second apron triggers. It’s also a marker of success in player development.
Some decisions will be difficult, particularly if players deservedly seek out their fair market value. Players like defensive stopper Luguentz Dort — whom coach Mark Daigneault said “set an unbelievable tone” in Game 4 — will likely become too expensive.
Eventually, players like Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins could be more affordable replacements.
Some decisions may be even tougher than that.
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Holmgren is a player that the Thunder could potentially opt to trade or let walk, if they felt the financial strain of three max players would become too cumbersome.
To that end, the Thunder drafted 19-year-old forward Thomas Sorber out of Georgetown with the No. 15 selection in the 2025 NBA Draft. Sorber is more of a traditional big and doesn’t have quite the same skill set or range that Holmgren has. But he’s far more affordable and would provide far more roster flexibility.
This reflects the brilliance of general manager Sam Presti’s approach to building the OKC roster.
While assembling the youngest and most complete roster, Presti has also been collecting draft capital and has been selecting players — read: cheaper players — he has been stashing away. Those players can continue to develop in Oklahoma City’s effective program and can blossom into viable replacements for the emerging stars it lets walk.
These are good problems to have, the problems of an efficiently and well-managed franchise.
Now, all he has to do is hit on the draft picks he does keep.
(This story was updated to change a video.)
