The Oklahoma City Thunder remain one of the best teams in the NBA, even after having to let certain role players go this summer to reduce their luxury tax.
San Antonio Spurs 104-116 10-21 Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs
Oklahoma City Thunder 96-84 10-23 Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
Oklahoma City Thunder Sun 23:00 Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
Oklahoma City Thunder Tue 00:00 Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
Dallas Mavericks Thu 01:30 Oklahoma City Thunder
Dallas Mavericks
But, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Thunder will require to make additional in order to reduce their possible tax for the 2027-28 season.
Windhorst expressed that OKC are projected to have three first-round picks in the 2027 NBA Draft alongside team options on Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber and Jaylin Williams, which could result in a significant amount of luxury tax.
"The Thunder won't keep all the picks and the players; otherwise, they'd exceed the roster cap," Windhorst wrote.
"They are facing a roughly $500 million payroll in 2027-28, including tax, following the draft."
In their current situation, the Thunder are set to pay $450 million for their roster in 2027-28 with $250 going to the team's payroll and $200 towards the luxury tax.
Teams monitoring OKC roster situation
Oklahoma City Thunder Mark Daigneault
Oklahoma City Thunder Mark Daigneault
Windhorst revealed that executives from other clubs are monitoring the situation of a couple of OKC players that could potentially leave the team.
"League executives are watching whether the Thunder pick up options on Topic and Sorber for next season by the Nov. 2 deadline," he wrote.
"Both players have dealt with health issues and are set to earn a combined $12 million next season, and that will cost Oklahoma City more than $60 million in added tax. Not picking up one or both could be level-setting as the Thunder manage this challenge."
A rival executive also commented on the situation of the Oklahoma City team.
"They will not be paying that much, so it comes down to who and how they cut some of it," the executive explained. "Sam [Presti] I'm sure has studied it at length and will develop two or three paths out and will look for the cleanest option over the next year."
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