The 2024 NBA Free Agency period started June 30th at 6PM ET. And Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti has wasted no time.
Often lauded as one of the best GM’s in all of sports, Presti quickly maneuvered to retain key pieces from last year’s team while also dipping into the free agent market.
Aaron Wiggins
Presti’s first move was to sign free agent F Aaron Wiggins to a five-year, $47 million deal. OKC had previously declined Wiggins $2 million team option for the 2024-25 season in lieu of negotiating a longer, more lucrative contract for Wiggins. Drafted out of the University of Maryland by OKC in 2021, Wiggins became a pivotal rotation piece for OKC last season.
Wiggins played in a career-high 78 games during the regular season and made an appearance in all 10 of OKC’s playoff games.
Although his averages dipped, Wiggins efficiency significantly improved in 2023-24. He shot 56.2% from the field and 49.2% from three, both career highs. Wiggins also saw his role increase in the playoffs, stealing minutes from Josh Giddey as Giddey became unplayable in OKC’s second round matchup against Dallas.
Wiggins is only 25 years old and locking him up for another 5 years makes a lot of sense for OKC. Especially while they’re still on Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren’s rookie contracts.
Wiggins could have easily made the move to another team and demanded more minutes. But instead, he decided to stay in OKC and build off the success he had last year. He’ll continue to be a great asset coming off OKC’s bench, which is one of the deepest in the league.
Isaiah Joe
Not even 5 minutes after news broke of Wiggins new deal, it was announced that OKC also signed free agent sharpshooter Isaiah Joe to a new four-year, $48 million deal. Joe had joined OKC in 2022 after being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Joe, like Wiggins, played in a career high 78 games in 2023-24 and was a pivotal piece for OKC during the regular season. Even more so in the playoffs. Joe, also similar to Wiggins, experienced his most efficient NBA season yet with career highs in FG% (45.8) and 3-point% (41.6). He ranked 18th in the NBA for 3-point% during the season on the NBA’s best 3-point shooting team.
Retaining Joe severely strengthens OKC’s bench and shooting while giving them the option to plug him into the starting rotation, if needed. Despite only starting one game during the regular season, Joe replaced Giddey in OKC’s starting lineup for the final two games of the Dallas series.
Joe, like many others on OKC, is a young talent (25 years old today, Happy Birthday Isaiah!!). He’s still improving and has not yet reached his prime. He’s another luxury the Thunder have coming off their bench for the upcoming season.
Isaiah Hartenstein
Despite re-signing two key rotational pieces from the team that earned the 1-seed in a loaded Western Conference last season, OKC had yet to confront their biggest flaw – their size. OKC’s size was always a question mark last season.
With Chet Holmgren at 7’1″, there was some key interior defense for the Thunder last season. However, OKC needed a big body enforcer, like Steven Adams, to patrol the paint. Having a guy like Adams would allow Chet to stretch out to the perimeter on offense and shoot, while also extending their defensive capabilities.
One name that OKC has been linked to since their season ended is Isaiah Hartenstein. Hartenstein had spent the last two seasons with the New York Knicks, proving invaluable in the Knicks 2024 Playoff Run after the injury to Mitchell Robinson.
Sam Presti and Co. flew out to Eugene, Oregon on June 30th to meet with Hartenstein in person at his home. Not even 24 hours later, Hartenstein agreed to a three-year, $87 million deal to leave NY and join the Thunder.
Hartenstein was the final piece to the puzzle, and OKC got him. Granted, they offered him far more than the Knicks could to retain him. Hartenstein averaged 7.8 PPG and a career-high 8.3 RPG in 2023-24 while playing behind Mitchell Robinson for half the year. Hartenstein’s passing ability and interior presence will work wonders playing with SGA, Williams, Chet and everyone else.
Upcoming Contracts
Hartenstein is only 26-years old and the potential for OKC to re-sign him to another deal once this contract is up is there. Speaking of contracts, it’s reported that Hartenstein’s deal is front-loaded, giving OKC flexibility to keep him in his third year while also being able to offer rookie extensions to Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, while also re-negotiating the 5-year / $179 million deal SGA signed back in 2022.
SGA will make roughly $36M this upcoming year, which for him is a bargain. After making his second straight All-NBA first team and coming in 2nd for MVP voting behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic, SGA is eligible to sign a supermax extension in the summer of 2025. The extension is estimated to be around $294.2M over 4 years and would make SGA the first player in NBA history to earn over $80M in a year.
What’s Next For OKC
OKC’s roster seems to be solidified for the 2024-25 NBA season and boy am I excited. This might be, top to bottom, the best roster the Thunder have had since they moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle back in 2008. There is so much for Thunder fans to be excited about. Now the question remains: what will Sam Presti do with the treasure chest of picks OKC still has?
