The Thunder’s offseason losses have put the NBA’s new financial rules front and center in Oklahoma City, but Sam Presti isn’t treating the second apron like a disaster. If anything, he sees it as a system built to reward the kind of team the Thunder have spent years becoming.
That matters because this summer brought real departures. Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe were all moved out, a painful reset for fans who had grown attached to the 2024-25 championship roster. Oklahoma City patched the openings with promising young players, but the turnover still stings.
Presti, though, made clear on Thursday that he views the league’s apron structure very differently than many fans do. In his preseason press conference, he laid out the purpose of the rules this way:
"[The aprons] were, as I understand it, put in place to even the playing field amongst teams that have an outsized financial advantage in comparison to the majority of the league... The aprons are intended to make it so a team's primary team-building philosophy can't be spending," Presti said.
That explanation gets to the heart of why the Thunder may be one of the league’s biggest beneficiaries under the new CBA. Oklahoma City has never operated like a major-market giant. It doesn’t have the kind of financial runway that comes with cities like Los Angeles or New York, where huge TV deals and higher ticket prices can help grease the wheels on expensive roster-building.
Without restrictions, keeping players such as Dort, Wiggins, and Joe would still be a challenge for the Thunder. Meanwhile, teams like the Lakers, Knicks, and Warriors would be far better positioned to keep throwing money at the problem, just as they’ve done for much of the 21st century.
Presti’s point is that the apron penalties aren’t designed to stop teams from chasing titles. They’re designed to push teams toward building them the right way.
And that philosophy fits Oklahoma City almost perfectly. The Thunder have long built through the draft and player development, turning internal growth into an organizational strength. Even in their championship season, the roster was largely homegrown, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander already in the fold before he became a household name.
Two of the three veterans the Thunder let go this offseason started their careers in Bricktown, which only underscores how deeply the franchise leans into its own development pipeline.
That’s why the Thunder are so well equipped to handle the financial squeeze. The apron rules reward exactly the kind of team-building model Oklahoma City has already made its identity.
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There is another layer to the conversation, though, and it is the kind that tends to follow promising players in Oklahoma City once they start looking indispensable. Wallace is eligible for an extension this summer, and the talks are ongoing even if both he and Mark Daigneault say it is not becoming a distraction. For now, the Thunder are trying to keep the conversation centered on development and performance, but the calendar gives the situation a little more urgency than the usual offseason backdrop. [Read more 🡒]
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There is still real business to sort through, even for a team that has spent recent seasons building with a clear plan. The final roster spot is one part of it, but the deeper question is how the Thunder fill the minutes and responsibilities left behind by offseason departures while also deciding which of the newer faces can actually stick once camp competition starts to harden. [Read more 🡒]
Otega Oweh Suddenly Faces A Real Thunder Problem This Preseason
Sam Presti spent part of the preseason talking about the NBAs new 3-2-1 draft lottery format and why it could make the league more competitive while cutting down on tanking, but the same broader shift could create a more ordinary problem for Oklahoma Citys own young players. The Thunder have long leaned on big rotations to help develop talent, and that approach has usually given prospects room to grow while the games still matter.
This preseason, though, tighter margins could make those minutes harder to find for second-round pick Otega Oweh. If the Thunder are playing more competitive games and shrinking the floor for developmental reps, his path could get complicated quickly, especially with the team weighing how best to handle his roster status and long-term growth. [Read more 🡒]