Thunder, Jalen Williams Agree to 5-Year, $287M Extension

Thunder, Jalen Williams Agree to 5-Year, $287M Extension

We’ve got some breaking news out of the NBA where Jaylen Williams and the Thunder have agreed to a five-year rookie max extension which can reach a maximum value of $287 million. That is according to ESPN. So, the deal will reach its max value if Williams is named to an AllNBA or defensive team wins MVP or wins defensive player of the year. Williams was named to his first AllNBA team last season and of course helped lead the Thunders their first title since moving to OKC. He averaged a career-high 21.5 points, five boards, and five assists per game. The Thunder have now committed $822 million to their core three over the past week and a half. And that includes, of course, the MVP, SGA, Chad Holgrren, and now Jaylen Williams. Let’s welcome in our coach, Avery Johnson, and Ashley Nicole Moss, our analyst here to discuss. Um guys, it’s kind of interesting after becoming just the second o youngest team to win an NBA title. Now this core is locked up together when you think of SGA chat and now Jaylen Williams. A whole lot of money that OKC is putting out there. Avery, I’ll come to you first here. Um how long is this championship window and how dangerous is this OKC team? Because it feels like they’re not going anywhere with these three core guys. smart by Sam Prey and the OKC ownership to get these three guys locked up. These talented three players that are still very young uh in their careers, they don’t come along uh very often. You think about when the Bulls went on their run. We all talk about Michael and Scotty, but you know, it was Michael and Scotty and Dennis Rotten. and then doing another one of their runs, it was Michael Scotty and you know Ryan Harper and and you know one of the Grant brothers but you look at the Spurs Manu Tim and Tony Parker when you have these types of talent it’s good to keep them together. You remember it was Shaq Kobe and then you could throw in the mix Big Shot Robbert Ay you get these guys locked up. you do not let them get away. Uh these contracts will kick in in two more years. So they’re still under their own contracts for the next two years where they won’t be handcuffed from signing other players. And then three years down the road, some of those guys like Alex Caruso is probably not going to be on on the team. They’ll plug and play with some other guys. But this is smart business by OKC and it puts any doubt remove it removes any doubt from these guys’ minds and their families that they’re they’re not wanted. They’re definitely wanted. They’re giving them massive amounts of money and attention and they’re proving to their fan base. You can continue to support this this OKC championship run because those three key players are going to be in uniform for the foreseeable future. Yeah, and I mean to get this done before the NBA rights change, the amount of money that these guys are going to start getting paid is very smart by Sam Prey as well. And the for the foreseeable future with all three contracts. Now, let me make sure I get this number exact. $822 million between the three of those guys. But coach hit it right on the head. When you have a roster, a trio this talented, this young with so much potential, you do everything you can to lock them up. I mean, we’re talking about a young Oklahoma City Thunder team where the pieces around them might change, but when you have the ability to harness a trio like this because to coach’s point, they don’t come around often. And now we’re seeing so much parody in the NBA that guys are moving around and it’s very rare to stay with one team for an extended period of time. You do everything in your power to make sure that you are on the winning end of that conversation and not the losing end. And there’s so much upside to this Oklahoma City team. You have them now as champions. They have multiple playoff experiences under their belt. It’s only going to make them better as contenders, as individual athletes, but more importantly as a trio. Sam Prey was there when they had the the their original big three when they had, you know, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Avery. Do you think that maybe he learned from potentially a mistake of not locking up those three guys some 14, 15 years ago? Yes. some of the greatest uh opportunities to construct a deal like this is to go back in time and learn from maybe some of the things you wish you had a mulligan on. I know I wish I had mulligans on the golf course and there’s not enough of them for me. But this this gives Sam Prey it was a reflective part because you didn’t pay James Harden. He he wanted the max dollars and when you didn’t pay him and the timing of when he wanted to get paid rubbed him the wrong way because they were stalling at that time. You can see now Sam Prey the urgency to get all of these guys signed within a week or two week period to remove any and all doubt. I’m sure Chris that he learned from that uh Harden Westbrook and uh Kevin Durant situation. Yeah. Yeah. And I think also the biggest difference here is that when you talk about the trio of Harden, Westbrook, and Durant, they didn’t win and that’s a big chunk of the piece of the puzzle here rather. Um, you know, you talk about this specific trio, this Oklahoma City Thunder trio, they won the championship, so you know that they can do it again and hopefully will do it again. I think when you talk about the trio of the past, the thing that may have prevented the front office from keeping those guys together was the fact that they’ve gotten close several times, but they never were actually able to seal the deal. And is it that that you would potentially never get to that position? Was there not belief in that trio as every single time they were close but not close enough? So, that’s the biggest thing. When you win, it changes the conversation. And we know that across any sport, winning changes the conversation, whether it’s about a particular athlete, a particular team, a particular coach. And that’s the biggest difference with this Oklahoma City Thunder team, especially the fact that they were able to do it in an NBA discourse that believes that young teams can’t win. That was always the knock to this Thunder team was that super talented, but they’re so young, so inexperienced. Can they actually win a championship? They knocked those narratives down. So you would be insane to not lock the trio up to try to do it again. Actually, and also you got to remember this is in a small market. So the the idea that you know you can only pay players if they’re in with the Los Angeles Lakers or the Boston Celtics. No, the the Thunder is removing all doubt about how a small market can can really be invested into three uh superstars. So, this is going to send messages to free agents, you know, maybe if they’re a mid-level guy or even if you’re in a situation and you could go and sign a minimum with OKC because you’re going to be playing with three terrific guys. You’re going to be well coached, you know that OKC is going to spend the money. They have an unbelievable practice facility. So, the misnomer of a small market not being open for business to spend a combined, you know, close to $800 million in extensions on three different players. That’s gone away. Already have one title and pretty heavy favorites to win next year’s title as well. They are plus 260. The next best is plus 750. So, right now, the Thunder the team to beat might be the team to beat for quite some time in the NBA with their core three locked up. Now, Jaylen Williams is the latest to get a deal following SGA and Chad Holgren. Williams had that playoff careerhigh 40 points in that pivotal game five win in the finals against the Pacers.

Avery Johnson and Ashley Nicole Moss join CBS Sports HQ to break down the news regarding Oklahoma City All-Star Jalen Williams.

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