The Nick Collison Contract

The well-chronicled $6.5 million boost Collison received to his $6.75 million salary this season, by the letter of salary-cap law, is not officially referred to as a signing bonus, even though that's basically what it was.

In technical terms, Collison's final year of his existing contract was "renegotiated" upward from $6.75 million to $13,270,000. He then, as stated, received a four-year extension worth a little more than $11 million.

But all the basic concepts covered in this cyberspace last week were accurate: Oklahoma City decided that the best use of its leftover $6.5 million of salary-cap space from the summer was paying it all to Collison now in exchange for a below-market extension that ensures Collison's cost-effective presence on the roster when Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and maybe even Serge Ibaka are all commanding big dollars.

Doing so, of course, means that the Thunder -- who, if they're ever second-guessed for anything, face ongoing questions about their willingness to go out and trade for a productive veteran -- no longer have that cap space to increase their trade options between now and the Feb. 24 trading deadline.