The Oklahoma City Thunder have until Oct. 31 to lock up guard Reggie Jackson long-term with a contract extension, or he will become a restricted free agent next summer. It looks like it's going to be the latter, via the Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry:
As the deadline nears, a deal appears unlikely to get done and talks will have to resume next summer when Jackson becomes a restricted free agent.
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Oklahoma City historically reaches agreements with players on rookie extensions. Jeff Green and James Harden are the two biggest exceptions. Both were traded before making it to restricted free agency. But in 2009, the Thunder and Thabo Sefolosha came to an 11th-hour agreement on an extension that kept him with the franchise through the end of last season.
The case of Jackson, however, is closer to those of Green and Harden.
Jackson's situation is a bit tricky. He's spoken repeatedly about his desire to be a starter, but with Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City that seems unlikely. Jackson showed in last year's playoffs that he's capable of starting alongside Westbrook, but it doesn't appear that head coach Scott Brooks is going to commit to that lineup.
As well as the role, there's the money. Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker agreed to a four-year, $48 million extension on Tuesday, and that probably strengthens Jackson's case for an eight-figure yearly salary. I realize that might sound crazy for a guy who has been a backup for most of his career, but Jackson's per-minute numbers are strong, he's young and the salary cap is about to rise significantly.
Still, there's some motivation for both sides to keep trying. For Jackson, it's not as if there are a ton of teams looking for a new starting point guard, especially if Ricky Rubio and Brandon Knight wind up signing extensions this week. He's on a great team and he should get pretty good playing time regardless of whether or not he starts. For the Thunder, there just aren't that many avenues to improve the roster. Oklahoma City has seen Jackson develop from a late-first-round pick into a valued contributor, and it would be a shame if it wound up losing him after what happened with James Harden. This isn't to say that the Thunder wouldn't keep him in restricted free agency, but that'll depend on what other offers are out there.
Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti has said he sees Jackson as a "core member" of the team. No one knows exactly how much Presti is willing to pay this core member, but there's surely a number that could get this finished right now. If, as expected, he doesn't agree to that number, then there will be extra pressure on Jackson to prove his worth this season. He averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game last year.
