The summer of signings for the OKC Thunder continues on, as Sam Presti and company have officially inked Chet Holmgren to a brand new five-year max deal with a potential worth of $250 million.
With this, it now totals a whopping $590.21 million in new money committed to Oklahoma City's standard-contract recipients, a number that's destined to balloon their payroll over the next several years.
Of course, despite this, the fiscal feeding frenzy is far from over for this Thunder front office. In fact, the signing of Holmgren to such a lucrative new contract only makes the club's next move all the more obvious.
Jalen Williams is next in line to receive massive pay raise from Thunder
Like Holmgren, Jalen Williams is up for a rookie contract extension this offseason, and, considering his resume, his price tag should realistically be even bigger.
With his All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive nods this past season, J-Dub should be expected to sign a new deal somewhere in the ballpark of what Orlando Magic cornerstone Paolo Banchero recently agreed to, which holds a value of $287 million over a five-year span.
The writing has been on the wall for months now when it comes to the Thunder re-upping with Williams for the long haul, and for good reason.
Putting forth a truly historic campaign, the 24-year-old wrapped up 2024-25 with career-best averages of 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and just shy of a block while shooting a highly efficient 48.4 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from downtown.
On top of this, he also made a strong case for NBA Finals MVP after posting 23.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists throughout the seven-game championship round.
In a year where questions about his fit as a number two option alongside Gilgeous-Alexander were consistently circulating, Jalen Williams not only found a way to put them to rest, but did so in one of the toughest ways imaginable, as he took 28-29 pain killing injections for his hand injury during the playoffs that ultimately required surgery just to stay on the court and provide for his team.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Thunder will now look to shell out a desirable new payday to the third-year pro, someone the celebrated NBA insider went as far as to label as a "superstar."
With both SGA and Chet now locked down for the foreseeable future, it's only logical that the franchise's next move is to secure Jalen Williams' future in the Sooner State.