OKC Thunder Sign Nazr Mohammed to One Year Extension

Darnell Mayberry at the Oklahoman reports that the Thunder and Nazr Mohammed have reached an agreement for a one year extension.

OKC Thunder Signs Mohammed to Contract Extension | NewsOK

Full details of the contract extension are not yet known. What we do know at this point is that the contract is for one year, cannot be less than $1.4 million, and it keeps him off the unrestricted free agent market. As Mayberry notes, both Mohammed and the Thunder were eager to get a deal done, and it is encouraging to see that both sides were able to make ends meet before June 30.

If you recall, Mohammed was brought to the Thunder in a mid-season trade between OKC and the Charlotte Bobcats, which saw the Thunder move Morris Peterson and D.J. White to Charlotte in order to acquire Mohammed. Mohammed quickly meshed with the young Thunder team, started games when called upon, and provided some surprising offense when needed.

More importantly, Mohammed is a professional and acts as a mentor to the Thunder's young big men, which include Serge Ibaka and Cole Aldrich. Clearly the Thunder organization saw the positive effects he has had on the team's development and maturation and hope that he will continue to help their youth movement evolve into the kind of professional that Mohammed has become in his 13 years in the league.

UPDATE:

Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the one year deal is for $3.75 million. While this number is considerably more than the minimum that the Thunder could have offered him, it is about half of what Mohammed earned last year. I think it speaks volumes as to how they see Mohammed as a member of this team when you consider that his one year salary will pay him more than Nick Collison, Daequan Cook, or Thabo Sefolosha. Assuming that Cook ends up signing the Thunder's qualifying offer, it is conclusive that whenever the season starts, the 2011-12 team will start exactly like how the 2010-11 team ended. Every player on the roster from last season is under contract and at a lower aggregate amount than last season.