The Thunder lock up another key rotation player for years.
“Obviously this is a place that I think is ascending and that’s something I want to be a part of… I’m looking forward to hopefully a couple more years,” Alex Caruso said of Oklahoma City.
How about four more years?
The Thunder and Caruso have agreed to a contract extension, the team announced. The deal is for four years, $81 million, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
That number is right about where he was expected to land, and on average is more than double $9.9 million he will make this season. Caruso became eligible to sign an extension on Saturday, six months after the Bulls traded him to Oklahoma City.
This is a good signing for the Thunder but, more importantly, great for Caruso, a player who went undrafted out of Texas A&M and has climbed his way up the NBA’s ladder.
“I think that’s just part of me not really settling for wherever I’ve been in my career,” Caruso said in Las Vegas, when he and the Thunder were there for the NBA Cup. “Like undrafted to G league with Mark [Daigneault, Thunder coach] for a year, to two-way to end of the bench guy, to rotation player to important, first team all, defense. Like, I’ve never been satisfied.”
This contract should be a little satisfying.
Caruso is a two-time All-Defensive Team player who is a key part of the Thunder’s rotation off the bench. While he doesn’t rack up a lot of counting stats — 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game this season — he can knock down 3-pointers and provide some secondary shot creation. Oklahoma City is a contender with the top-ranked defense in the league, and Caruso is a key part of all of that. Which is why locking him up for four years is the smart move.
