Northwest Notes: Oladipo, Christon, Hayward

Victor Oladipo signed an extension with the Thunder last fall and as a result, he’ll go from making slightly over $6.55MM this season to $21.0MM next year. GM Sam Presti is confident that the shooting guard will take the necessary steps to justify that contract, as Erik Horne of The Oklahoman relays.

“[Oladipo has] improved every single year he’s been in the league, and I would expect him to continue to do that,” Presti said. “I really don’t have a concern that they will continue to, but there’s no question, Victor, Steven (Adams), those guys have to get better for us to continue to get where we want to go, and I think they are going to work to get to that point. I think he really showed a level of efficiency as a two-way player that’s really hard to find.”

Here’s more from the Northwest division:

  • Olapido didn’t look comfortable running the point this season, Horne writes in the same piece. The shooting guard said he’ll work hard to improve this summer and he hopes to have more opportunities with the Thunder next season. “I like handling the ball. I like making decisions, and I know I can,” Oladipo said. “Now it’s a matter of doing it on a consistent basis.”
  • Semaj Christon received backup point guard minutes, but he wasn’t much of a play-maker, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman notes. Christon was simply trying to avoid mistakes as a rookie and it held the team back. The guard remains under team control through the 2019/20 campaign, though I’d speculate that the Thunder won’t go into next season with Christon directly behind Russell Westbrook on the depth chart.
  • The Jazz would like to re-sign Gordon Hayward as well as George Hill and Joe Ingles, but it may be difficult to retain all three, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News writes. Genessy believes the team may have to decide between Hill and Ingles assuming it brings Hayward back.
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