NBA Free Agency: Shane Larkin’s unique NBA tour continues
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
So far, the only thing we know is Shane Larkin desires a rich, long-term contract. With that, however, will come some compromises.
While it’s understandable, Larkin wants some stability, he might not get the money he was hoping for.
There are always surprises during the NBA free agency period, but this shouldn’t be one. Larkin still has some respect to earn before taking a large deal, so he should be relatively cheap.
This leaves Sam Presti with an opportunity to scoop up a young talent to play the backup point guard position.
Former Thunder guard Raymond Felton did what he could at his age in the role, but Larkin might be a nice change of pace.
It is already known he is fast, and he seems motivated to prove himself. If Larkin were signed, he could be the spark off the bench OKC has been looking for.
All of this depends on how much he’s asking. The Thunder are well past the salary cap after signing Paul George and Jerami Grant the past week. They’ve added Nerlens Noel and re-signed Raymond Felton pushing them to an inconceivable $300 million potential depending on their next actions.
Next: Complete NBA Free Agency primer for all 30 teams
Bottom line some internal movement would need to occur with some more pricey contracts leaving. Plus Larkin would need to be amenable to fitting in with an economical rate.