It may have only been a week since the OKC Thunder put an end to the 2024-25 season by winning the NBA Finals, but the franchise has already shifted its focus to the 2025-26 season and beyond.
With their activity during the 2025 NBA Draft, which saw them add two new intriguing young prospects to this title-defending rotation, and the recent Dillon Jones trade that opened up both roster room and cap space, Oklahoma City has wasted no time preparing for the future.
However, perhaps the club's most genius present and future-minded move of all came on Sunday afternoon, as ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the Thunder had reached an agreement with Jaylin Williams on a new $24 million extension that will keep him in the Sooner State through at least the 2027-28 campaign.
Thunder extend Jaylin Williams to new, highly cost-efficient contract
On the league's option deadline day, GM Sam Presti decided to decline the final year of Williams' deal, worth $2.1 million.
Considering the big man barely saw any action during OKC's championship-winning playoff run, even collecting six DNPs during the final two rounds alone, shelling out an extra $22 million in his direction may come as a bit of a surprise to some on the surface.
However, upon digging a bit deeper into the logic behind such a move, it not only appears to be a true win-win for both parties involved, but it also further strengthens Presti's claim as one of the best NBA executives in recent memory.
Despite his lack of action during the postseason, Williams proved to be a pivotal piece throughout this past season as a whole with the Thunder, as he dropped career-high averages of 5.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 39.9 percent from deep and clocked in with the best net rating on this 69-win team at 17.9.
On top of his impressive on-court impact, the 23-year-old has also managed to ingratiate himself with his peers on the team thanks to his contagious personality, with Aaron Wiggins going on record this past season to note that he has "a certain energy about himself that pours into the team."
Having a positive presence both on the sidelines and within the locker room is an invaluable commodity for any organization in the league, especially one that's looking to establish itself as a legitimate dynasty.
Securing these kinds of attributes for the long term and on an average salary of just $8 million per year (the non-tax MLE will be nearly double this come next season with a projected worth of $14.1M) is an absolute bargain of a transaction, and one that should result in an outpouring of praise and appreciation from fans to Sam Presti.