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The Oklahoma City Thunder are loaded with young talent, but that can get expensive for the front office down the line.
Especially if the leader of that young talent could be staring at an exorbitant supermax extension.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst reported on the Thunder’s situation Friday, noting the team is on track for the luxury tax. They added. “that’s before the following season, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be starting a supermax extension that would begin at a staggering $72 million if current projections hold.”
With that as the backdrop, Bontemps and Windhorst suggested any trade that happens before Thursday’s deadline involving OKC “would have to be made with an eye toward the future, as the salaries for this burgeoning young core start to get wildly more expensive.”
This update comes after NBA insider Marc Stein reported earlier this month that Gilgeous-Alexander “is eligible for a four-year supermax extension this coming offseason worth nearly $300 million that would set him up for the first $80 million salary in NBA history in 2030-31.”
The guard could also wait until the summer of 2026, when such an extension would be a five-year deal.
At this point, nearly any contract would be worth keeping him for the Thunder.
SGA is the franchise cornerstone who finished second in MVP voting last season and could be well on his way to his first career MVP this season. He leads the league in scoring at 32.5 points per game and is also averaging 6.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks a night while shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep.
He is a primary reason the Thunder sit atop the Western Conference standings at 37-9 and are eyeing their first championship since moving to Oklahoma City.
It’s hard to put a price tag on that.
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