Subscribe
Follow Us
The Oklahoma City Thunder are making sure Kenrich Williams is not going anywhere in the foreseeable future.
Williams, who went undrafted in 2018 but found a solid contributing role since being traded to OKC in 2020, has agreed to a new four-year deal with the Thunder. The contract is worth $27.2 million and is set to kick off in the 2023-24 season, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The 27-year-old forward would have been an unrestricted free agent next offseason if he failed to reach a new deal. Fortunately, he or the Thunder no longer need to think about that.
ESPN Sources: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams has agreed on a four-year, $27.2 million contract extension. The deal, negotiated by @PensackSports, comes for an undrafted player who had no Division I offers out of high school.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2022
Kenrich Williams' extension solidifies the Thunder's supporting crew around its young core headlined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren and Aleksej Pokusevski. The four-year veteran has been a great stabilizing force for Oklahoma City in the past two years.
Throughout 115 regular season games in two seasons for the Thunder, Williams has averaged 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He has also shot 50.1 percent from the field so far, including a respectable 39.1 percent clip from beyond the arc. With the team looking to contend for playoffs basketball while developing their youngsters, the presence of the Williams certainly gives them a huge boost.
Not to mention that Williams is highly looked upon by the OKC brass and his teammates as a locker room leader. As mentioned, he's the prime example of hard work and determination, making his way to an NBA roster despite going undrafted. The team surely needs that kind of voice to keep pushing their young players.
