Stiles Points: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Current Contract Gives OKC Thunder Opportunity

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earn All-NBA for the second straight season which changes the outlook of his future max contract. An argument can be made that it is time to strike now in OKC.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) warms up / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

No one had a better day on Wednesday than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his Financial Group. His family, agent and accountant all should have been doing celebratory laps around their homes as the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar was named to his second straight First Team All-NBA squad.

While this is quite the accomplishment on the floor it means even more off the hardwood as now Gilgeous-Alexander is in line for a supermax extension that on paper looks like fake numbers. Business is booming in the NBA and players are certainly entitled to a slice of the pie - especially at the top - and with his supermax eligibility Gilgeous-Alexander is now in line to sign a four-year $294.26 million pact.

This contract will be signed the second the clock strikes midnight on July 1, 2025, to open up the offseason. A deal that will make the OKC Thunder superstar the first place to make 80-plus million dollars in one season, taking up 35 percent of the projected Thunder cap space and totaling six years of club control as an extension of his current deal.

Soon, Oklahoma City will have to ink Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams to mega rookie-scale extensions as well and the Thunder become extremely expensive extremely fast. Though, the Bricktown boys are prepared for that. Not to worry as they have a treasure chest of first-round picks to navigate these shakey waters and plug holes with cost-controlled talent.

As the sticker shock of these contracts gets more and more extreme there is actually less reason than ever to believe the Thunder can't keep the band together. No team is better positioned to keep their core intact than Oklahoma City.

However, the conversation should actually extend to the short term. For now, the Thunder have this window of opportunity to acquire a big-time salary (and player) that is only owed a chunk of change during this thin window before the supermax money kicks in.

Perhaps no one fits the criteria, perhaps the market never materializes for a player like Lauri Markkanen or Kevin Durant who fits the mild contractually, but Oklahoma City has a chance to have the best of both worlds maximizing both the short-term and long-term windows of opportunity.

While Sam Presti can truly go either direction with a sound bit of logic backing it, do not be surprised if the Thunder consider adding talent to this core despite the feeling right now being that Oklahoma City will lean on internal development.

If Oklahoma City is even going to use this cap space for external improvements it is now or never before they are forced to pay their home grown talent.

Stiles Points

• The Ringer Ranked the 25 best players 25-and-under, which saw three OKC Thunder representatives placed on it, all ranking in the top eight. This is a massive indication of the bright future for Oklahoma City.
• Anthony Edwards is the latest current player to praise Oklahoma City Thunder defensive ace Lu Dort, stating Dort gave Minnesota the blueprint of how to defend Dallas. Those instructions are hard to follow as no one can replicate Dort though the Mavericks were held to 108 in their Game 1 win. Doncic scored an impressive 33 on the Wolves while Kyrie Irving shook loose for 30 points to counteract some complimentary pieces cooling off.
• Oklahoma City have now had three members of their franchise reach All-NBA First-Team in back-to-back seasons.
• Oklahoma City now has a total of 19 All-NBA selections and 10 First Team All-NBA selections, both of which leads the NBA since 2008-09.

Song of the Day: It's Now or Never by Elvis Presley.

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