The Thunder have exercised the fourth-year contract option on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($5.5MM), plus the third-year options on Darius Bazley ($2.5MM) and Ty Jerome ($2.4MM), the team announced in a press release. All options are for the 2021/22 season.
Gilgeous-Alexander, widely considered to be the club’s best player, averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this past season. He also shot an impressive 47% from the floor and 35% from downtown, doing so at just 21 years of age.
Bazley, a 20-year-old forward, was acquired by the team in the 2019 NBA Draft. He was selected No. 23 overall in the event, holding per-game averages of 5.6 points, four rebounds and 18.5 minutes last season.
As for Jerome, he was taken with the very next pick in 2019, starting his career in Philadelphia. Oklahoma City acquired the 23-year-old and others as part of the Chris Paul trade with Phoenix last month.
After surprising onlookers during the 2019/20 season, the Thunder have accelerated their rebuild by acquiring several draft assets and young players. The team is well-positioned to succeed in the future and will have Gilgeous-Alexander, Bazley and Jerome all under contract next season.
I think if you are looking at OKC they are set up to be one of the top teams in the league in the next 5-10 years. Sam Presti is great at making trades and his FO have been excellent at scouting.
Last time they were bad they were able to draft Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Harden, and then even drafted Adams with a late lottery pick. Now they have a ton of first rounders to use to draft players and trade for stars.
Looking at next years deep draft they should have their own pick in the top 5. The also have the Heat and Nuggets unprotected first round picks which are actually great because they have a pick swap with Houston that is only top 5 protected.
As a Hinkie guy I love what Presti did and if I was a Thunder fan I would be excited.
Excited but cautious….we will only be as good as our drafting analysis is. In other words, we have to hit on draft picks. Most stars don’t want to come here. So the odds of a free agent choosing OKC in the near term, isn’t high. (Like Lebron, Kyrie, Durant or Leonard did to instantly turn around their teams)
Presti for the most part has been pretty good. So optimism is high.
You are right. My thought is that the number of picks will give them enough chances to draft 1 or 2 potential future stars/superstars of their own. After that they should still have enough draft picks to then make a trade for a third star to join them.
Just because of how many picks they have though I don’t think they can actually use all of them in the draft and trading them will be necessary. Also, as a Sixer fan during The Process it will be a great time to find diamonds in the rough. Ish Smith, Robert Covington, TJ McConnell, Jeremi Grant, JaKarr Sampson, and Christian Wood were all 2nd round picks, undrafted players, or G League guys that have had different levels of success.
Oh for sure Presti will be bunching those picks together to move up in the draft or trade for stars. Once OKC is good again, people will want to play here. It’s just no one wants to save us when we’re bad like the top 4 did. They went to big markets (or their hometown)for the most part.
Speaking of diamonds in the rough, I LOVE who we took in this draft. Foreign players you never heard of, but IMO will be good for the team.
I also loved Dort on your team. I never saw him before the playoffs, but I loved him in the Thunder Rockets series. Strong defender who doesn’t have much offense, but I love how he attacked the basket getting to the line. If he can improve his offensive game he will be good.
Thunder fans have nothing to be excited about.
Just like Rockets fans. Oh wait, OKC have draft capital.
Figured the board troll would show up at some point.
Next yrs draft has stars in 1st rd. Let alone the lottery. With all the picks OKC has they can move up (3-10) and get a player they really like. You do your scouting. You can find two starters in next yrs draft. SGA has developed into a serious wing. He’s still filling out. He can play three positions. His best to me is SG. The guy is 21 ok. He’s going to be a star. Need to find an ast PG. OKC has a good future.
Debbie Downer strikes again. You can’t make your team (Houston) be better by trashing another. Grow up. No wonder Santa skipped you this year.
Got to draft well
This upcoming draft is really top heavy. Suggs, Cunningham, Green, Mobley, Kuminga… And the BJ Boston and Jalen Johnson were supposed to b high upside guys that don’t much look like it at Duke or Kentucky so far. If the Thunder can get there hands on Suggs or Cunningham to play in the backcourt with SGA and they become All Star caliber guys then they will b on the right path. Just like every market like OKC they have to draft right and hope they like being there enough to resign and want to stay. Or it ends up like KD, Harden, Russ and they end up leaving one way or the other.
Re-signing is a ways off… until then OKC will be like Ignite Seniors.