The Thunder’s offseason may not have turned heads, but it did help them dodge the kind of salary-cap mess that has dragged other contenders under.
Oklahoma City is going through its first real brush with the dreaded second apron, and general manager Sam Presti has come out of it in decent shape. Two of the three players moved so far had already slipped out of the rotation, which softened the blow. The return was seven second-round picks, not exactly the kind of haul that lights up a headline, but it stacks up well when compared with what other teams have gotten back in similar situations.
Boston is the cautionary tale here. The Celtics have been hit hard by the pressure of the new financial rules, and much of their maneuvering came last summer when they sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks and Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers. The returns were thin: Anfernee Simons for Holiday, and Georges Niang plus a 2031 second-round pick for Porzingis and a 2026 second-round pick.
That didn’t work out for Boston. Simons didn’t contribute in Boston and was moved before last season’s trade deadline, while Niang was also flipped, along with more second-round picks, before the offseason was finished.
The Celtics’ rough sequence was tied to the harsher penalties introduced in the league’s 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, and it ended with a first-round playoff exit and the departure of Jaylen Brown this summer. Boston is now on the outside of the championship picture.
Oklahoma City, by contrast, kept its foundation intact. Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins were nonfactors late last season, and Lu Dort shot just 30.8 percent from three-point land in the Thunder’s abbreviated postseason run. Presti was able to move the extra pieces, collect seven assets, and leave the core untouched.
That leaves the Thunder heading into the 2026-27 season almost exactly as they were, with Wallace expected to move into the starting five. They still have a real path back to the NBA Finals.
But the financial pressure isn’t gone for good. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s supermax deal begins next summer, and Presti will have to navigate another tight cap situation.
In Other News...
Thunder Finally Made The Frontcourt Move Fans Have Wanted
The Thunder spent the offseason doing what fans had been asking for, giving their frontcourt a real reset around the core that already made them one of the leagues most complete teams. Daniel Hartenstein is back on a three-year deal, Chet Holmgren is coming off a season that put him in the leagues elite defensive conversation, and Oklahoma City also used its No. 12 pick to add another big body to the mix.
Aday Mara gives the Thunder another way to play up front, and that alone should make the rotation more interesting once the games start to matter. Between Hartenstein and Holmgren, the Thunder already had size and versatility, but now there is a new layer to how they can line up, and the real question is how quickly that added depth turns into a usable weapon for a team with bigger goals than simply surviving the regular season. [Read more 🡒]
DeMarcus Cousins Sparks Thunder Sixers Debate Over How Title Teams Are Built
DeMarcus Cousins stirred up an old championship debate by questioning whether a roster loaded with talent is enough to survive the grind of the postseason. In his view, the difference between a team that looks dangerous on paper and one that can actually make a deep run comes down to chemistry, camaraderie and the kind of shared experience that only builds over time.
For that reason, Cousins pointed to Western Conference clubs such as the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs as examples of teams that have had years to grow together and learn how to win meaningful games. His skepticism about Philadelphia was not about star power, but about whether a group that has not spent much time together in high-pressure basketball can be ready for the kind of series that exposes every weakness. [Read more 🡒]