It's Time For The OKC Thunder To Reward Isaiah Joe

The Oklahoma City Thunder might have lost a pivotal Game 6 on Saturday night, but their season was nothing short of a success. They posted a 57-25 record and swept a first-round playoff series, falling two games short of a Western Conference Finals appearance.

The Thunder isn't a team that fell short in their final year of their championship window. They're not handicapped by a lack of cap space or draft assets. They project to keep moving forward when it comes to developing talent and patching holes.

One of the first moves that should be made after the seasons end, though, is rewarding Isaiah Joe. He's more than deserving. The Thunder guard shot 42 percent on 3-pointers this year. Anyone with that level of ability to space the floor is going to get paid, but Joe might deserve it more than most sharpshooting role players.

When this team was in the gutter a variety of times this season, Joe brought a spark. An instant offense. It wasn't always a loud slam dunk -- though he's capable -- but sometimes a timely 3-pointer to spark offense, others a crucial stop of the defensive side of the ball.

Joe embodies versatility, something the Thunder thrive with, while also bringing an elite talent as a sharpshooter. He does this while striving to improve his game and being the best he can for the organization. In his exit interview, Joe explained how he's going to continue honing in on his game this summer while working with the staff to ensure he does it in a way that's positive for Oklahoma City.

"Yeah, always shooting," Joe said of what he'll work on. "Really going into this offseason working on my body, durability. Working on ways that I can help the team, being a gravity shooter, being a catch and shoot, that nature. Being in with the coaches a lot. They've got a lot of insight. So just continuing to grow that way."

Joe is a key rotational player, but he's also a spot starter and could lobby for a starting job on the team. He perfectly compliments the trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, though there's not really a lineup he doesn't fit in.

When the series was heading south for the Thunder, head coach Mark Daigneault gave Joe two straight starts, though both games ended up being losses. His starts weren't the reason why, and the team's trust in him as a starter is another example of why he deserves to be rewarded this offseason.

Joe has a team option worth $2.2 million next season. A contract that's an absolute steal for his services. Doing this, though, would make Joe an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason. With a projected $33 million in cap space this offseason, the Thunder should pony up the money now and give Joe a contract worth his value.

Keeping this core together long-term is a key to building an extended championship window. The Denver Nuggets took years and plenty of continuity before raising the Larry O'Brien trophy. Retaining Joe as a part of that core and continuity in Oklahoma City could be the key to building that core of players that meshes and molds. He's a specialist that can do more than his role, something the Nuggets have in players that helps give them their championship identity.

"My job is just to be ready when it's time to play on the court. I leave a lot of that stuff to my organization and my agent to talk about that. My job is to be the best version of myself that I can be for the betterment of the team. So that's my mindset going into it this summer," Joe said of contract negotiations this summer."

This team is better with Joe, and having his skillset long-term will be key to competing and having strong rotations of lineups. However much the Thunder needs to offer to keep him long-term, they need to do so.

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