Thunder’s Alex Caruso trade suitors will be disappointed with insiders’ scoop

Ahead of a potentially busy summer for the dethroned champion Oklahoma City Thunder, veteran guard Alex Caruso is considered safe, according to a new report. With All-Star Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams’ respective max extensions kicking in and impacting the financials moving forward, how will the Thunder shave salary cap space during the offseason? Which was an inevitable question for Oklahoma City the moment the front office inked its core, including back-to-back MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to max deals.

Still, Caruso, one of Thunder GM Sam Presti’s final pieces to his championship puzzle ahead of the 2024-25 season, remains an integral part of the team’s future, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon.

“Caruso, entering the second season of a four-year, $81 million extension, is considered a firm member of the long-term core, league sources said, proving again his extreme playoff value the past month in the locker room and on the court,” Slater and MacMahon reported.

Caruso, a two-time champion who prides himself on stepping up during the playoffs, is coming off the most productive postseason of his career. While the Thunder, for the most part, faced the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals without Williams and his backup, Ajay Mitchell, Caruso averaged 14.9 points on 47.7% shooting, including 50% from deep, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 26.1 minutes per game.

He will enter the second season of his four-year, $81 million contract in 2026-27, with a salary of $19.5 million.

SGA reportedly expected to speak up for Thunder’s Lu Dort

After losing Game 7, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters he doesn’t get involved in GM Sam Presti’s affairs, which suggests he won’t have any say in potential roster changes over the summer. Still, Gilgeous-Alexander will make an exception for Lu Dort as the two guards are the longest-tenured members of the Thunder.

Gilgeous-Alexander won’t say it publicly; however, he will vouch for Dort, as ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon reported.

“I was told, though, that Shai was playing a little bit coy there,” MacMahon said on the NBA Today show. “He will at least remind Sam Presti and the Thunder management just how much he values having Lu Dort as his teammate.”

With the emergence of Thunder’s homegrown guards such as Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell, alongside veteran Alex Caruso, many see Dort as the odd man out after the starting guard’s underwhelming performance in the playoffs, especially against the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort are also teammates on the Canadian men’s national basketball team.

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