Thunder projected to make wild $293.4 million decision

Generally speaking, legitimate title contenders register in with some of the largets payrolls in the association. From the Phoenix Suns (highest team salary at $219.6 million) to the reigning champion Boston Celtics (third-highest at $201.6 million), examples of this are rather abundant ahead of 2024-25. Enviably enough, however, the OKC Thunder seem to be an exception to this trend.

Despite the fact that they are heading into the upcoming campaign with the second-best odds of winning the 2025 NBA Finals, Oklahoma City finds itself tied to a cumulative payroll of $159.2 million, which ranks in as the eighth-lowest in the league.

As things currently stand, there are just two players on Mark Daigneault's roster who are making over $16.5 million this coming year.

Unsurprisingly, one of these individuals is superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who, at an average salary of $38.3 million over the next three campaigns, is arguably one of the biggest bargins considering his MVP-deserving production over the last several seasons.

While the Thunder should certainly be feeling quite fortunate when it comes to their financal situation at the moment, with the way the league's cap is projected to increase over the coming years coupled with how expensive player contracts are becoming -- see Stephen Curry's recent one-year, $62.6 million extension as a relevent example --, they understand that these good times can't last forever, especially when it comes to their cornerstone guard.

After being selected to the All-NBA first-team in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, Gilgeous-Alexander has officially made himself eligible to sign a "supermax" extension with the franchise next summer, and Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report projects this deal, once signed, will come in the form of a four-year, $293.4 million pay-scale.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander projected to sign $293.4M deal

Despite how lofty these figures may appear to be on the surface, it is revealed in the piece that the Thunder centerpiece could be eligible to get as much as $379.9 million if he were to hold out on putting pen to paper till the summer of 2026, where he can possibly receive five additional years if he were to make a third-straight All-NBA first-time or claim another noteable honor (MVP, DPOY, etc.) this coming year.

However, Pincus says that the risk of seeing such "a massive payday go potentially unclaimed" should he fail to qualify may be too grave to take a chance on, and predicts that he'll wind up signing on for the four-year figure mentioned above, with the first year's starting salary (2027-28 season) being $65.5 million.

He projects that fellow star guard, Donovan Mitchell, will also look to ink the same deal once eligible in two years time, which, per his assesment, would have them both fall into the top-four of the league's biggest contracts over the next five years.

Since making his way to the Thunder back in 2019, Gilgeous-Alexander has continuously improved his level of play in virtually every facet of the game.

These past two seasons, in particular, have helped established him as a bonafide franchise-altering talent, as he's posted sensational per-game averages of 30.7 points, 5.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and just shy of a block on 52.3 percent shooting from the floor and 35.0 percent shooting from deep en route to two-straight All-Star nods and top-five finishes in the league's MVP race.

Because of his high-end level of production, coupled with the heights he's managed to help guide Oklahoma City with, though $293.4 million may seem like a pretty penny to pay, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an equally pretty player to have leading the charge moving forward and, in turn, is undoubtedly well worth it.