Reggie Jackson could become a restricted free agent next summer, but Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti reiterated that they intend to keep the 24-year-old point guard.

Presti played down speculation that the Thunder will consider trading Jackson before next season's trade deadline because he is expected to demand a lucrative deal next summer, insisting that he sees the fourth-year guard as a vital piece for the Thunder.

"We don't look at [Jackson] as anything other than a core member," Presti said via ESPN. "We want to invest in Reggie. There's not a lack of clarity in that regard. Figuring out how best we do that is my job. And I'm going to do everything I can because I believe that he's a great example of a lot of things that we try to do here."

The Thunder have until Oct. 31 to offer a contract extension to Jackson in order to avoid letting him become a free agent after the upcoming season. They were in a similar situation two years ago when they decided to trade James Harden to the Rockets, but Presti said that they won't consider doing the same with Jackson.

"I think with him in particular he's a guy we see being here for a long time. It may not be something we get solved in October, but the system is set up to try and give you an early opportunity to do that and we'll try to take advantage of that," Presti said of Jackson. "We want to get things done in advance if possible, but if not, we'll pick it up next season and do it in earnest again."

Jackson had the best year of his young NBA career last season as he averaged 13.1 points to go along with 4.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.

The former Boston College standout started in 36 games. He could start in more games in the upcoming season if the Thunder fail to find a starting shooting guard to replace Thabo Sefolosha, who decided to sign with the Atlanta Hawks this offseason.

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