re: OKC Thunder Offseason Thread: Banner Being Raised in front of KD on 10/21

quote:

---

Need some more Hogs on the team if Joe and Jaylin get dealt.

---

jerrythekingbawler type beat

next year every Isaiah Joe 3 will be a MONSTER HOG

Between Dort being dirty and a flopper, SGA’s beloved foul baiting, and probably being the ugliest team to stomach looking at on the TV what’s not to love here

Caruso could be anywhere on vacation right now but he chose to work at Raising Canes today. Really cool of him efen if he got paid to do so.

And look at the crowd he drew, it was money well spent by RC

Loading Twitter/X Embed...
If tweet fails to load, click here.

quote:

---

OKC has a good thing going but prepare thyselves for 2-3 years max of it. Too many mouths to feed and not enough to go around.

The draft capital is also too much. You have to give those picks up or else you’re getting rid of proven bench players to make room for unproven rookies.

I think there’s actually such a thing as having too much capital, the Thunder are there. I’d be shipping out all those picks for picks way down the road in 4-5 years.

---

What you say makes perfect sense and will be something to deal with

But we saw it already being dealt with last night twice.

He drafted a physical center who will have a year to learn. And he is likely to replace IHart in 2 years to unload his contract

Then he traded his late first rounder for a 27 1st which is top 16 protected. This would come from SAS’s. And if it does not convey then it goes to 2028 and 2 second rounders. This likely ends up being a 2028 payoff. And 2nd rounders do not have contract guarantees like 1sts.

So Sam is already looking ahead to avoid the 2nd apron.

Wanna guess who the led the NBA (regular season) in Net Rating in the clutch? Min. 20 clutch games played/2.0 MPG in clutch games.



































Lu Dort — +33.4

Caris LeVert — +32.7

Evan Mobley — +32.6

Jamal Murray — +31.7

Bennedict Mathurin — +27.0

Darius Garland — +26.3

Jarrett Allen — +26.0

Michael Porter Jr. — +23.5

Giannis Antetokounmpo — +22.1

Tyrese Haliburton — +22.0

From Bobby Marks, whos the expert on this stuff:

quote:

---

The Thunder have all 15 players under contract for 2025-26 but must balance their two first-round picks. If the past three drafts are an indication, expect Oklahoma City to be aggressive with its two first-rounders and one second-rounder. The Thunder have made eight trades since 2022, including sending a late first in 2022 to Denver (the pick turned into Peyton Watson) for a 2027 top-five-protected first.

And while there is no danger of entering the first or second apron in 2025-26, more than $800 million will likely come due in extensions to Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams and eventually force Oklahoma City to make decisions with its roster. Not including their first-round picks this year or next, the Thunder are a projected luxury tax team and $5 million over the second apron in 2026-27.

Gilgeous-Alexander extension would not start until 2027-28, and Oklahoma City has financial flexibility with $52 million in non-guaranteed contracts. Two of those players, Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein, started in the playoffs. There is also the benefit that the Thunder do not have to rely on the minimum free agent market because of the possible financial limitations. Oklahoma City could have six first-round picks in the next two years -- two this draft and an unprecedented four in 2026.

Offseason finances:

The Thunder have a one-year reprieve before extensions for Jalen Williams and Holmgren would begin in 2026, and Gilgeous-Alexander the following year. For now, Oklahoma City has 15 players under contract entering the offseason and once again is projected below the luxury tax. (Including both first-round picks, it is $2.4 million below.) The Thunder have until June 29 to exercise the team options for Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell.

Top front office priority:

With three of the Thunder's top players eligible, the 2025 offseason will be known as the summer of extensions in OKC.

The first order of business is Gilgeous-Alexander. The MVP is eligible to sign a four-year, $293.4 million supermax extension ($65.5 million, $70.7 million, $76 million, $81.2 million). Because he has two years left on his contract, the $65.5 million salary in the first year would not start until 2027-28. The extension is unprecedented for two reasons. The $73.3 million average over the four seasons is the highest in NBA history. And next, Gilgeous-Alexander will probably become the first player with a salary of $80 million or more in one season. He led the league in scoring and had 71 straight 20-point games, the fourth-longest streak in NBA history.

Expect Holmgren and Jalen Williams to join the elite company of Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Cade Cunningham, Franz Wagner, Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley. Those seven players agreed to rookie maximum extensions at the onset of free agency the past two seasons.

Holmgren and Williams are eligible to sign up to a five-year, $247 million extension. The total value could increase to $296 million if MVP, All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year escalator clauses are included. The increase in salary will only occur if either player reaches one of the three criteria for the 2025-26 season.

Williams joined his teammate Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the only players this season to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.5 steals. He became the third-youngest player over the past 50 years to score 40-plus points in an NBA Finals game and the youngest since Russell Westbrook in 2012.

Holmgren's first three seasons have been mired by injuries. Though he played all 82 games last season, Holmgren missed his rookie campaign because of a right foot injury and played only 32 games (he missed 41 games because of a pelvic fracture) this season. When he was available, Holmgren was impactful on both ends of the court. He ranked second, behind only Gilgeous-Alexander, in plus-minus and led all players in contested field goal percentage. He trailed only the Pacers' Myles Turner in blocked shots in the postseason.

Extension candidate to watch:

Dort's play this season would almost always be rewarded with a new contract. The guard played in at least 70 games for a third straight seasons, shot a career high 41.2% on 3-pointers and played a key role in Oklahoma City's No. 1 defense. Dort ranked in the top 10 in half-court matchups vs. All-Stars this season. However, considering the financial ramifications of new contracts for Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Holmgren and Alex Caruso, it is hard to see the Thunder rewarding Dort with a three-year, $80 million extension.

---

LINK

First of all, they didnt draft Dort. Thunder are not getting rid of SGA or J-dub. Outside of that, anything will be on the table in the next few years. Helps to have a ton of draft capital and probably the best GM in the league who has proven now for 17 years he knows how to draft.

Youre trying to tell Thunder fans a bunch of stuff they already know. Everyone knows about the apron and the fact that the team won't be together like this exactly. But it will be for the next two years.

quote:

---

I was listening to Simmons and it seems like teams aren’t really going to be able to have more than a 3 or 4 year run under the current CBA with the second apron.

---

That seems right. I’ll be interested to see what the front office cooks up to deal with this. If nothing else, we know they can handle a total bottom-up rebuild.

quote:

---

Realistically, the thunder have 3 more years after this year with the foundation of this roster, and after 28, they’ll have to move on from this core and hope the hit on picks to reload.

---

Maybe. What are you defining as the core here?