Thunder, Reggie Jackson End Extension Talks

11:45pm: Presti acknowledged that the sides broke off negotiations in a statement to reporters, including Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).

“We are looking forward to re-opening the conversations this coming July and expect Reggie to continue as a core member of the Thunder for many years to come,” Presti said. “At this time, we have to put all of our focus on our team and the season in front of us and Reggie is a big part of that.”

10:06pm: The Thunder and Reggie Jackson have emerged from extension negotiations without a deal, and the fourth-year guard intends to hunt for a starting job in restricted free agency next summer, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Some teams around the league believe there’s a decent chance the 24th overall pick from the 2011 draft will receive offers for between $13MM and $14MM a year, according to Wojnarowski. That’s in part because of Oklahoma City’s high-dollar commitments to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka that would make it difficult for the Thunder to match such offers without going into luxury tax territory, as Wojnarowski explains. Skepticism surrounds Thunder GM Sam Presti‘s assertion that the Thunder would match any offer sheet, Wojnarowski writes.

News that discussions have broken off is no surprise, since a report Thursday indicated an extension was unlikely. Jackson said in September that he hoped to reach a deal on an extension before tonight’s 11:00pm Central deadline to do so, though the Aaron Mintz client also made it clear he was prepared for that not to happen. He’s made no secret of his desire to start, but Westbrook blocks his path to the starting point guard job, and pairing them, both 6’3″, in the backcourt would make Oklahoma City especially small.

The Thunder have nearly $63.6MM already committed to 10 players for 2015/16 against a projected $66.5MM salary cap. Matching a $14MM offer to Jackson would place the team over the $76.829MM line where the tax sits for this season, and though that figure is expected to rise for next season, it’s unclear by just how much.

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