Where Does Thunder Guard Lu Dort's New Contract Rank in NBA?

Lu Dort's new deal is large, but not relative to some of the other rising guards in the NBA.

The Oklahoma City Thunder inked Lu Dort to a five-year, $87.5 million deal when free agency opened on Thursday evening. As such, this establishes him as one of the cornerstone pieces of the roster moving forward. 

We still don't know the minor details of the contract, but the 23-year-old guard is set to make an average of $17.5 million per year moving forward. While that number seems high, the salary cap is expected to rise tremendously over the next five years, meaning by the end of this deal Dort could actually be drastically underpaid. 

Again, it's still unclear the exact number Dort will make in the 2022-23 season, but if we use the round $17.5 million figure, where does that rank him amongst NBA guards?

• Steph Curry ($48.1 million)
• Russell Westbrook ($47.1 million)
• Damian Lillard ($42.5 million)
• John Wall ($40.1 million)
• Klay Thompson ($40.6 million)
• Bradley Beal ($37.3 million)
• Kyrie Irving ($36.5 million)
• Luka Doncic ($35.7 million)
• Ben Simmons ($35.4 million)
• Devin Booker ($33.8 million)
• CJ McCollum ($33.3 million)
• Jrue Holiday ($32.4 million)
• Jamal Murray ($31.7 million)
• D'Angelo Rusell ($31.4 million)
• De'Aaron Fox ($30.4 million)
• Donovan Mitchell ($30.4 million)
• Trae Young ($29.8 million)
• Chris Paul ($28.4 million)
• Kyle Lowry ($28.3 million)
• Jaylen Brown ($26.7 million)
• Jalen Brunson ($26.0 million)
• Anfernee Simons ($25.0 million)
• Mike Conley ($22.7 million)
• Malcom Brogdon ($22.6 million)
• Terry Rozier ($21.5 million)
• Fred VanVleet ($21.3 million)
• Buddy Hield ($20.5 million)
• Tim Hardaway Jr. ($19.6 million)
• Eric Gordon ($19.6 million)
• Lonzo Ball ($19.5 million)
• Eric Bledsoe ($19.4 million)
• Bogdan Bogdanovic ($18.0 million)
• Lu Dort ($17.5 million)
• Gary Trent Jr. ($17.3 million)
• Norman Powell ($16.8 million)
• Marcus Smart ($16.6 million)
• Dejounte Murray (16.6 million)
• Markelle Fultz ($16.5 million)
• Malik Beasley ($15.5 million)
• Derrick Rose ($14.5 million)
• Kevin Huerter ($14.5 million)

While Dort is far from being one of the top guards in the NBA, he's certainly one of the better defenders and is still extremely young. It's a large contract to give to a 23-year-old, but Dort is a player on the rise. 

He's also younger than nearly any player on this list, meaning he could ultimately outplay his contract in the near future. 

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