SPORT NEWS: NBA News: Alex Caruso and Thunder Finalize 4-Year, $81M Contract Extension.giang

Two-time NBA All-Defensive Team guard Alex Caruso has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $81 million contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Sunday.

Caruso told The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer in late December that he believed Oklahoma City “was a good fit” for him.

“Obviously this is a place that I think is ascending and that’s something I want to be a part of,” Caruso told Fischer.

The extension means he is now set to be a part of the Thunder’s playoff hopes for the foreseeable future.

Caruso was previously set to become a free agent in 2025 following the expiration of the four-year contract, worth just under $37 million, that he signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2021.

The Thunder acquired Caruso in a June trade with the Bulls in exchange for guard Josh Giddey.

Caruso became a regular part of the Bulls starting rotation for the latter part of his 2023-24 campaign in Chicago. The veteran guard averaged a career-high 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while pacing the NBA with 3.7 deflections per night in the best offensive campaign of his career.

Those numbers have dipped following Caruso’s transition back to a bench role in Oklahoma City. He has also missed time due to a hip injury which sidelined him for eight games in late November.

When healthy, Caruso has come off the bench to average 5.7 points, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.6 blocks through 19 games.

The extension shows the Thunder’s faith that Caruso will continue adjusting to his new team and return to being a dominant force on defense.

Since ending the 2023-24 season with a disappointing second-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Thunder spent the summer improving their defense with the additions of Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Hartenstein joined the Thunder on a three-year, $87 million deal in free agency this July. With both Hartenstein and Caruso locked in for the near future, Oklahoma City will hope this defensively-minded duo can help put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder on track for the franchise’s first championship since 1979.