The Oklahoma City Thunder have locked down Alex Caruso.
Caruso and the Thunder agreed to a four-year, $81 million contract extension on Sunday night, his agent told ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Thunder announced the extension on Sunday night, too, but did not disclose terms of the deal. Caruso, who is in his first season with the Thunder, was set to become a free agent next summer. The 30-year-old will now be under contract with the organization through the 2028-29 campaign.
Caruso, who actually got his start with the Thunder’s G League team after going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2017, spent his first four seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Lakers — who he won a title with in 2020. Caruso then spent three seasons with the Chicago Bulls before he was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh Giddey last summer. He first became eligible for a contract extension on Saturday, so the Thunder didn’t waste any time getting the deal done.
The two-time NBA All-Defensive Team guard has shined with the franchise so far this season, too. He’s averaged 5.7 points and 2.9 assists per game off the bench, but he ranks in the top five in the league in deflections, field goal percentage allowed and points per direct pick allowed as a ball-handler defender, according to ESPN. He’s also averaging a career-high 1.9 steals per game this season.
Perhaps more importantly, he’s helped lead Oklahoma City to a Western Conference-best 22-5 start this season heading into Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards. They reached the NBA Cup championship game, too, but fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas last week. Caruso had just two points, both of which came from the free throw line, in that loss. They were held to a season-low in scoring in the title game, too.
The Thunder went 57-25 last season and reached the Western Conference semifinals, which was the team’s deepest playoff run since they fell in the conference finals in 2016. While the Thunder’s success will largely be based on how far stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — who is out with a hip injury — can carry them, Caruso…
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