With Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka out of the picture, Steven Adams is all of a sudden the second most important player on the Oklahoma City Thunder. In his three years in the league, he’s demonstrated his value as a big body in the middle on defense, rebounding and in the pick-and-roll, but his role has expanded considerably now.
According to Woj, his paycheck might be following suit:
Oklahoma City and center Steven Adams making significant progress on a 4-year, $100M contract extension, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2016
We are in a new age of contracts, as this past offseason proved. With Timofey Mozgov getting $64 million over four years himself, $100 million doesn’t seem all that much for a player much younger and considerably more talented. Monday night is the deadline for teams to sign 2013 draft picks like Adams to contract extensions before they hit free agency, and franchise building block players like C.J. McCollum and Giannis Antetokounmpo have already been locked up. In fact, if Woj is correct on the details, then Adams will be paid the same as the Greek Freak.
As much as history might make one blanch at a triple-digit contract, this would absolutely be the right move for Oklahoma City. Adams came to the game relatively late in his life, and yet he’s already developed wonderful hand-eye coordination and positioning skills at age 23. He’s improving offensively, though he may never have an above-average jumper, and head coach Billy Donovan trusts Adams to guard power forwards when the slow-footed Enes Kanter is in the lineup.
Adams has shown this year that he’s more than just a dunker on offense, range aside. Look at this silly post move he put on the Nuggets:
He’s making incredible strides as a passer too, which is doubly crucial when he’s with Kanter. For all his scoring punch, Enes is reluctant to pass and not as effective anywhere besides the low block. Being able to distribute from the high post will be a critical part of Adams’ long-term fit with this core. Based on his improvement over the last year, the Thunder should be confident he can fulfill all those requirements, which means they have to lock him up. And he’ll have $100 million to show for it.
