The Thunder’s latest roster move may have been driven by the CBA and the desire to trim salary, but it also changes something real for Victor Wembanyama: he won’t have to deal with Lu Dort nearly as often.
Oklahoma City traded Dort to Atlanta in a three-team deal with the Dallas Mavericks, and the Thunder have now also moved on from Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins. That’s a notable hit to the depth that helped fuel their 2025 title run. But from San Antonio’s perspective, the bigger development is simple enough - one of the league’s most controversial defenders is out of the Western Conference.
Dort has long been a lightning rod because of the way he plays. A seven-minute compilation of dirty, or at the very least careless, plays is the kind of thing that only reinforces the reputation he’s built with fans across the league. San Antonio saw plenty of him this season, facing the Thunder more than 10 times, so the Spurs and their fans already know exactly what that style looks like up close.
For Wembanyama, the move matters because of the sheer physical mismatch involved. He’s still 7'4" and slender, and the last thing the Spurs need is repeated contact with a player whose recklessness can put opponents in danger. Instead of dealing with Dort up to 12 times a year, the Spurs should only see him two or three times now that he’s headed to the Eastern Conference.
That doesn’t erase the concern entirely, but it does cut it down a lot.
The frustration with Dort isn’t new, either. In February, Nikola Jokic had to be held back after Dort undercut his knees away from the ball on a play that came after Oklahoma City had already scored and Denver was bringing the ball up the floor. Jokic was furious, and Dort was ejected.
Too many people missed the point of Victor Wembanyama’s “ethical basketball” comments last season, but the idea behind it is pretty straightforward. Ethical basketball should mean doing everything possible to make sure players can leave the floor healthy.
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