The Oklahoma City Thunder’s rise has brought an uncomfortable reality with it: winning at this level gets expensive fast.
For years, Oklahoma City has been able to build out one of the league’s deepest cores because its stars were still on rookie deals. That gave Sam Presti room to keep stacking useful pieces around the top-end talent.
But this offseason changed the math. With the extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren set to kick in, the Thunder had to shed Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins in separate moves just to get below the second apron and keep the luxury tax under control.
Those are the kinds of players this front office has shown it can replace. The deeper question is much bigger: how long can Oklahoma City keep all three stars together, and if it can’t, who becomes the odd man out?
Holmgren has already taken a public hit after what was described as a dud of a playoff performance against the San Antonio Spurs, and plenty of outside observers have started pointing in his direction. If he wants to quiet that noise, the offensive leap in Year 5 has to be real.
But Williams is under the same kind of pressure, just in a different form. For him, the issue is whether he can stay healthy and steady enough to function as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s clear second option for the long haul.
This is not a demand that the Thunder choose between Holmgren and Williams right now. The most likely outcome is still that all three remain in Oklahoma City at least through their current contracts. The organization has clearly planned for this exact sort of squeeze.
Still, the future is already peeking through the cracks. Next offseason brings another layer of decisions, with Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain becoming extension-eligible. The financial picture is only going to get tighter.
Williams’ 2025-26 season was hard to ignore for all the wrong reasons. His year began late because of a wrist injury rehab, and then hamstring strains kept piling up, costing him big chunks of the regular season and much of the playoffs.
Even when he was available, he never looked fully like himself. He had trouble getting downhill, had a tougher time steering the offense as a secondary creator than he did during the championship run, and his 3-point volume fell sharply.
That’s what makes this season so important. If Oklahoma City eventually finds itself forced to keep only two stars, Gilgeous-Alexander is the easy answer.
After that, the debate gets real. If Holmgren continues to sharpen his offensive game, his defensive value could put him ahead of Williams in the team’s priority list.
For a Williams-Gilgeous-Alexander pairing to justify a combined price tag of roughly $105 million, Williams has to be more than just available. He has to be the guy who can pick up the offense when opponents load up on Gilgeous-Alexander. That means more reliable shooting from deep and more force when he puts the ball on the floor.
He’s shown he can do it before. The Thunder know that. But with the money getting tighter, Williams is carrying a heavier burden now, and he’ll have to answer it again in 2026-27.
In Other News...
Chet Holmgren Just Put Oklahoma Citys Future Core In Focus
Victor Wembanyamas Western Conference Finals performance put a sharper spotlight on one of Oklahoma Citys biggest questions heading into the summer. Across the seven-game series, the Spurs star piled up 22.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks a night, and the matchup exposed just how much the Thunder still have to solve when Chet Holmgren is asked to handle elite size and skill in the paint.
Holmgrens rough finish, capped by a 4-point Game 7 on 1-of-7 shooting, only added to the unease around a roster that has to balance high-end talent with a tightening financial picture. Oklahoma City has built its rise around a promising young core, but as salary cap rules get more restrictive, the pressure on how that core is paid and preserved is only going to grow. [Read more 🡒]
Russell Westbrook Just Forced Thunder Fans To Revisit His Legacy
Russell Westbrooks place in Thunder history was never really in doubt, but his decision to step away from the game brings the conversation back into sharper focus. For Oklahoma City fans, he remains one of the franchises defining figures, the explosive point guard who won the 2017 MVP and spent years turning nightly box scores into must-see theater.
Westbrook finished as the NBAs all-time leader in triple-doubles with 209, a reminder of just how singular his run was and why his legacy in Oklahoma City still sparks debate and appreciation in equal measure. There had even been outside interest in bringing him back in a mentoring role before he chose to end his playing career, another sign that his influence has stretched well beyond the highlights that made him a Thunder icon. [Read more 🡒]