The latest move out of Oklahoma City says plenty about where the NBA is right now.
The Thunder have traded Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal that sends three second-round picks to OKC, former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks and Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal is part of Oklahoma City’s push to avoid the NBA’s second tax apron, and it comes after the team had already moved other players to trim costs.
That part of the story matters almost as much as the trade itself. As Yossi Gozlan noted on July 19, 2026, “There are zero teams projected to be in the second apron this season.” He added, “This would be the first time it’s happened since the second apron has been implemented.”
That kind of league-wide caution is exactly why Brad Stevens deserves more credit in Boston.
The Celtics didn’t trade Jaylen Brown because they wanted to. They did it because they didn’t want to hand him the superduper max contract he was expected to seek, and because the CBA would have boxed them in and narrowed their long-term options.
But Stevens still made the kind of aggressive roster bet that most teams are trying to avoid now. He was willing to go into the second apron, and that gamble helped deliver Banner 18.
When Stevens built the 2023-24 Celtics, he understood the clock was ticking. He had a two-year window before the group would have to be broken apart. Boston made the most of it anyway, becoming the best team in the league and rolling through the postseason from start to finish.
That run probably doesn’t happen without Stevens taking on the second-apron risk. The next season didn’t bring the same result, but the original decision still carried real danger from the start.
And now the rest of the league is showing why.
Teams are scared of the second apron, and Oklahoma City’s latest cost-cutting move is only the newest example. Stevens, by contrast, accepted the pain that came with chasing a title. He knew the fun had a time limit, and he still pushed forward.
That eventually meant saying goodbye to a large part of the championship group. Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were always headed out, but Boston’s financial squeeze also made it impossible to keep Al Horford and Luke Kornet.
What Stevens pulled off afterward was impressive too: he got Boston under both tax aprons and even under the luxury tax without giving up a first-round pick. But that doesn’t make the earlier decision any less important. It was a hard path, and he took it anyway.
The league’s current hesitation only sharpens the point. Boston and Oklahoma City have spent the past two years showing what it takes to keep a contender together, and most teams clearly want no part of that bill.
That fear even played into how Mitchell Robinson ended up in Boston, since New York didn’t want to deal with the same issue - one that is coming for them anyway with Karl-Anthony Towns’ mammoth contract.
For all of that, Stevens should be getting more appreciation. He went all in when it mattered, and it led to Banner 18.
In Other News...
Celtics Just Passed On A Cheap Trade Chance That Will Frustrate Fans
The latest cost-cutting move around the league put a familiar Celtics front-office dilemma back in the spotlight. Oklahoma Citys three-team deal sent Luguentz Dort to Atlanta, Zaccharie Risacher to Dallas and Ryan Nembhard to the Hawks, while the Thunder came away with three second-round picks and a traded player exception in a financially motivated swap that opened a real window for teams looking for help on the wing.
Boston stayed out of it, and the reason is easy to see even if it is not easy for fans to swallow. The Celtics are barely under the luxury tax and have been trying to keep an eye on the repeater bill, while also carrying a crowded group of young wings that already includes Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr. For a team trying to balance present value with future flexibility, passing on another rotation-caliber wing was a choice that fit the books, even if it left some obvious talent on the table. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Just Sent A Telling Signal About Jordan Walsh
Jordan Walshs place on the Celtics looks a little more secure after his contract became fully guaranteed on Monday, a small but meaningful signal for a young wing still trying to carve out a long-term role in Boston. Walsh has already logged parts of three NBA seasons, and his recent progress has given the organization something to think about beyond just depth, especially with his improved shooting giving him a more credible path to minutes.
The next question is whether Boston treats that progress as the start of a bigger investment. Walsh is now eligible for a season-long extension worth up to 140% of the average player salary, which puts him on the radar for a possible new deal if the Celtics want to lock him in before the market gets involved. Even so, the wing rotation remains crowded enough that his future still feels fluid, and Boston may have more decisions to make than this one guarantee suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Paul George Could Be Bostons Next Risky Veteran Bet
Bostons interest in Paul George comes with the kind of familiar veteran calculus that has long shaped contender moves: if the body holds up, the fit can still matter in a big way. The conversation around him has even drifted toward the late-career path Paul Pierce took through Boston, Brooklyn and Washington, a reminder that star names can carry different meanings once a player is no longer expected to be the center of everything.
For the Celtics, the appeal is less about a return to peak superstardom than about what George could still supply on the wing in the postseason. He can function as a 3-and-D piece who also has enough shot creation to bail a team out when possessions get tight, but the larger question is how much that kind of value can move the needle if the rest of the roster does not hold up around him. Boston is still trying to make its current approach work under Mazzulla Ball, and George would be only one part of a much bigger equation. [Read more 🡒]