Extension talks with Jalen Williams may no longer be as effortless for the Oklahoma City Thunder as we expected. And they have the Orlando Magic to thank.
More specifically, they have the Year 5 player option Disney World’s basketball team just gave to Paolo Banchero in his rookie extension to thank.
Banchero recently agreed to a five-year, $239 million max rookie extension that can hit $289.7 million in total value if he makes an All-NBA team, wins MVP, or earns Defensive Player of the Year honors next season. J-Dub is a virtual lock to get those same terms.
But Banchero also received a player option in the final season (2030-31). That doesn’t register as a huge deal upon first consideration—until you realize no one who’s signed a max rookie extension has baked in a player option since 2021, when both Luka Doncic and Trae Young tacked them onto their agreements.
Tyrese Haliburton didn’t get one. Anthony Edwards didn’t get one. Tyrese Maxey didn’t get one last summer, even though the Philadelphia 76ers delayed his extension, and forced him to wait until restricted free agency. Not even the Thunder’s own Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bagged one when he put pen to paper on his first max deal in 2021.
Banchero now has one. And because players on the same level are constantly using one another as market comparisons, there’s a chance Williams will now push for one, too.
Yes, a Jalen Williams player option matters for the Thunder
Giving J-Dub a Year 5 player option is far from the end of the world. Those add-ins used to be considered standard for All-NBA-calibert extension candidates. J-Dub, for his part, is already an All-NBA player. If he pushes for a player option, the Thunder will almost assuredly give it to him.
This doesn’t mean he’s positioning himself to leave during 2030 free agency, or to force a trade during the season prior (despite what talking heads from certain three- and four-letter networks would have you believe). That is a half-decade away. Neither players nor teams game out their futures so far in advance.
Any request for a player option could simply be J-Dub attempting to increase his earning potential. The fifth year of his would-be 25 percent max extension pays him an estimated $54.6 million. If he hits free agency that year, his projected max salary is $60.2 million. That’s a lot of extra money!
It’s also money for which Oklahoma City will be on the hook. That is potentially problematic when executive vice president Sam Presti has to juggle paying J-Dub, SGA, Chet Holmgren, and any other superhumans the Thunder unearth in the seasons to come.
Tough decisions will be accelerated if J-Dub gets a player option
Oklahoma City doesn’t have to reconcile any awkward questions in the near future. It is set up both financially and functionally to keep this core together for at least the next two seasons, and probably longer.
Still, the ultra-distant future gets slightly hazier if J-Dub’s max includes a player option. It could be the difference between the Thunder’s Big Three sticking together until 2028 and 2029 or 2030. When you’re competing at this level, a year or two of guaranteed title contention makes all the difference.
Maybe this turns out to be moot. For now, it doesn’t appear Holmgren’s five-year extension includes a player option. Williams could go the same route. Except, he has more leverage than Holmgren. Using it to land a player option would be something everyone must clock—and a curveball OKC must plan around.