Back in 2003 when the Oklahoma City Thunder were the Seattle Super Sonics, they drafted a 4 year kid out of Kansas in the first round with the 12th overall pick, Nick Collison.
Fast forward 12 years, a team move from the great Northwest to Oklahoma City in the Midwest and there has been one constant, power forward Nick Collison has withstood the test of time with the franchise.
The Thunder have rewarded Collison, who was scheduled to become a free agent in the offseason, with a new contract extension.
From Yahoo! Sports Marc J. Spears:
Thunder forward Nick Collison signed a two-year extension paying close to $8 million, a source told Yahoo.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 3, 2015
And more from an official press release by the Thunder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Nick Collison to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are excited that Nick Collison will continue his tenure with the Thunder. Since our arrival in 2008, Nick has helped us establish the standards on and off the floor that we work by on a day-to-day basis,” said Presti. “He has accepted various roles, demonstrated professionalism in all aspects of his craft, and shown a commitment to an organizational philosophy that is rare in sports today. Nick is the type of player that will always be valued in Oklahoma City, and we are thrilled he will continue to be a foundational member of the Thunder moving forward.”
This deal might be a retirement contract but Collison still plays at a great level for the Thunder. In his career, Collison has averaged 6.4 points per game with 5.5 rebounds but he’s been a mainstay on the team, always bring great energy, leadership and consistency on a team that has seen its fair share of ups and downs throughout the years.
Hopefully Collison can continue to lead the locker room with the Thunder and help elevate them to new heights and make the playoffs in Oklahoma City.
Dan Feldman of NBC’s ProBasketballTalk delves a little more into the contract.
Collison, who’s making $2,242,003 this season, can get up to $5,224,500 in the first year of the extension, which kicks in next season and can last up to three years. Collison isn’t worth that much, but Oklahoma City could even pay him closer to the max possible next season and then decrease his salary up to 7.5 percent in future seasons.
The Thunder must weigh whether paying Collison more next season would put them into (or deeper into) the luxury tax vs. the desire to maximize cap space in 2016 (when Kevin Durant hits free agency) and, if this extension is long enough, 2017 (when Russell Westbrook hits free agency).
