[Stein] Part of the reason why the OKC Thunder traded Lu Dort to the Hawks was because they want to extend Cason Wallace this summer and they want to extend Ajay Mitchell next summer.
Honestly both more valuable than Dort and deserved more minutes
Dort has scoring issues. His only source of offense is shooting open 3s.
And he was clanking those
He was either clanking them or making 6 in a row
On the Down to Dunk podcast, there was an ama question about “if you could magically make any OKC player shoot 40% from three, who would you pick?” And they concluded that if you picked Dort, he’d definitely miss 60 straight and then make the next 40. Lol.
The JR Smith syndrome
He was good(and extremely clutch) with them in the championship run but his accuracy fell this year. It also looked like they were developing his midrange at the end of last year and earlier this year but it seemed like he had some sort of knee injury around march that set that back.
I felt like he really got hurt by JDub being injured. They needed more offense creation from his role without JDub being healthy which is just not his game. This lead to him shooting more questionable shots (they were struggling to get good looks but some were really deep) and trying to drive.
You’re probably right that part of this attempt at developing his midrange came with the intention to make up for some of the gap left by Dub being injured, but I think they had this plan for Dort’s ‘final form’ for a while now.
Like, ideally, a peak Lu Dort would be a player who could rely on his long range 3, still the great defender that he is, but who also had the tools to also be a more versitile playmaking option for SGA when he’d be orchestrating the offense. That last part with his driving and his middy just didn’t fully realize imo
Yes you would like him to continue to develop and instead he plateau if not regressed a little. Just feel like if the Thunder were healthy he look like a better player because he be getting better shots and just not asked to do as much. I do think this a bigger lost than people are realizing. Wallace is still very inconsistent there are times he wont even look at the rim. They are really counting on Wallace now taking that next step. I felt this last year was kinda disappointing from him was not bad but did not take the jump that I was expecting.
Caso is really tough for me to rate. He’s got heart, in some games he looks like he’s not ready for such a big role but in some others his hands when it comes to snatching the ball look other-worldly. He also did show up well for the WCF.
I’m just not really 100% confident in betting on Caso actually having all-time great pickpocketing skills lol, then again, if things do end up looking like that he should be an improvement over Dort this year
Caso’s biggest issue is inconsistency, but that’s a byproduct of inconsistent involvement in the offence due to scheme. It’s the same with Chet on offence. We play a heavy feed the hot hand in the first half of games then it defaults to SGA and attacking options that can handle the ball.
Cason has shown his ability to rise to the moment, he’s a huge reason we beat Denver on our championship run. Game 4 where he was hitting the midrange. His 4th quarter game 7 against the spurs this year he was carrying hard. I truly think people under-rate his offensive game, and it’s purely because he’s not asked to do too much and he seems to be a rhythm offensive player
Made 3 in a row against Denver game 5.
But you right, his 3s come in bunches. And usually when everyone else is missing.
They are, you guys (Detroit) should offer both a max contracts the next two summers.
Cason could legit ask for 4⁄120.
No. Not under this CBA, maybe before. Teams have been getting tight with their wallets lately. Something like 4⁄80 is more likely
Well then he should leave
He’s not getting that from anywhere. There are no teams with the cap space available to give a bench player $30 million a year, it’s just not happening.
They’d be paying him to start. I think somebody would give him that given his age and two-way play.
If he started last season, maybe, but for an unproven starter? I don’t think so. Some players don’t translate to starting very well, he’d have to prove that he can
He’ll be fine. He’s the 5th option and already All D.
I think he will be, but again, pockets are getting tight around the league
He’ll be the starter for an entire year by the time he hits RFA next summer, so if they don’t come to a deal this summer he’ll be able to prove his worth one way or another by the the time teams could make that offer
Though tbf he’ll also have to deal with being a RFA which will depress his market
He’s been on the bench like a lot of amazing player have been. But he started a ton last year and was one of our best 5 guys.
When sga was out, bro played at an all nba clip
Bro averaged 14, 5, and 4 without Shai last year. Even removing the random game Shai missed in December. Y’all need to relax.
Yes, he had a stretch of 4 games toward the end of that period where he averaged 22. You could argue that’s all nba level with his incredible defense. That was 4 games though. I’d argue he just got hot from 3 for a minute personally (14⁄22 during those games).
Still a great player but 30m a year? Maybe before the 2nd apron.
Yes, best POA defender in the league and 22 points? Yes. Guys like that get paid.
The difference in that game was he was the primary ball handler and some player need minutes to get their rhythm. He also made a comment that seemed that he was done being a bench player, I doubt we saw his best off the bench.
Again, for 4 games. I agree that he’s better than his overall numbers indicate, but I also think it’s a bit insane to extrapolate anywhere near consistent all-NBA level play based off of a 4-game sample where he shot super well from 3.
Like yeah, it’s true that a 64% 3-pt shooter would be all-NBA caliber. I don’t think that’s close to realistic though.
He was standing in, it’s not like that was his rhythm with the starters. I think you’ll see that from him.
He’s a better player than he’s shown, I don’t blame him for hating sitting behind Dort
30m/year is still crazy for someone who averages 9 points a game at below league efficiency. I think he’ll do better than that next year, but y’all do just need to relax a bit.
Nah, Dallas would be interested and could open up cap space to offer 4⁄120 relatively easily next summer.
30m a year to someone who averages 9 points per game on below average efficiency is kinda wild.
I know he’s better than that stat indicates because he’s on such a great team and doesn’t have as much room on offense. And obviously he’s an incredible defender. But 30m is so much in the hardcap era.
Not this year sure. The Peyton Watson deal will dictate a lot. If he gets 25 per year Wallace should ask for 30.
Kinda feel like Pwatt has more upside. Legit looked like OG annonuby for a stretch even if the floor might be lower because he’s not as proven.
Well I hope he does. Wallace is the more proven player to me atm.
And he would get the duren treatment where nobody wants to pay 4⁄120
Durens problem is he wants way more 4⁄120 is the pistons dream
If Duran played well in the playoffs he gets that easily. He’s easily a future top 5 at his position.
But he didnt
Just like Wallace didnt play well enough to get 4⁄120
Great argument.
Maybe the Pelicans would give him that lol
And we support that!
Cason is good but he is not handling the ball and having that level of responsibility to be paid at that level. Maybe that is something they work on this regular season make him similar to Jrue Holiday offense wise but I don’t know they have so many options he probably won’t get chances to make decisions.
This summer, he won’t. Nobody is currently giving him 30 million
He’s already proven to be a world-class defender, perhaps top 3-5 perimeter defender in basketball. He also shot the 3 very well in the playoffs. If guys like Jrue and Jaden McDaniels can get 30 million
Look up Jaden McDaniels stats than Cason Wallace’s
Wallace is also 3 years younger and has been playing off the bench
The statement was whether a team would give Cason \(30 million per THIS summer. Hell, the Thunder wouldn't give him \)30 million.
And you’re completely transposing his numbers to a starter. Playing in different rotations will yield different results.
You don’t pay a bench player “starter money” until you can conclude that he’s a starter. This season will prove out, but fans tend to predict success before it’s true.
He’s easily better than Caruso though, who’s making 20 million AAV on his current deal. Ajay Mitchell isn’t a great defender but good enough offensively where he easily gets the same deal.
Thunder would be elbow deep in the 2nd apron even if they extend both players at their floor market rate.
Right now Caruso is way better and its not close. I understand the age and Caruso struggling with injuries but Cason Wallace is a good defender. Caruso makes you feel like they are doubling the ball and he is also guarding his man. His positioning and team defense is insane.
Cason has offense. Caruso is a player coach and transforms super saiyan when it counts. He’s one of the guys like Horry if Green where winning seems to follow him wherever he goes
Which was my point. They can’t do it all. They’ll have to deal Caruso before he becomes untradeable.
Plus, you have McCain becoming an RFA in 2028 - a guy they paid a FRP for.
You do pay him starter money if you expect him to be the starter though
You still have to figure in a full season of McCain and Mitchell, though.
You have a logjam of minutes there. It’s not a fantasy game where you just agree to pay them all.
It’s not a guarantee as to see who starts.
He is at 12.9 points/40 compared to 18.7 for McDaniels. McDaniels also had a TS% this year of 61.1 compared to 53.8 for Wallace. And Cason’s TS% has decreased every single year he’s been in the league. So actually, he has been getting worse offensively as his role has increased. McDaniels has improved his efficiency with his greater offensive role
McDaniels is also 6 inches taller (reportedly might have grown an inch or two from his listed 6’9) and has a 6’ 11.5” wingspan compared to Wallace’s 6’ 8.5”. Beyond that, Mcdaniels’ standing reach is 6” greater. This makes Mcdaniels much more versatile defensively
Jaden McDaniels is the 2nd/3rd option while Cason was the 2nd/3rd option OFF THE BENCH
Per 36 Jaden is still way ahead in points and is 7-8% true shooting percentage more efficient
I’m shocked someone thinks mcdaniels is on the same level as Caso
How were Jaden’s stats when he got the extension?
Still much better than Casons
They also got those contracts before the CBA changes.
Both score about twice as often
Yeah he’s played off the bench
We’ll see what he does when he presumably becomes their starting 2 but it’s not as far fetched as you think
I was just saying the post says the Thunder want to extend him this offseason. I also don’t think he’s likely to outscore the big 3, Mitchell or McCain
Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t.
They have no cap flexibility with the Big-3’s extensions kicking in.
Apparently 4 years 108 is the max they can give him. Presti’s good at his job, I’d assume they knew Cason would re-sign this offseason if they traded away Dort
I agree that he’s absolutely valuable to the rotation. But they’re in a tough spot with the contracts they hold right now. Money is the only thing that will break up this roster.
They can absolutely have the desire to extend both guys, but also give them another season to prove it. Extending them a year early would be a mistake if you are concerned with Ajay getting hurt again.
If they extended Cason already, then that starts the countdown to Caruso/iHart leaving.
I think Presti is operating under the assumption that the Thunders’ owners will allow them to be significantly over the second apron for a couple of years in exchange for dodging the tax this year. Caruso will probably go eventually given his age and contract but I think they’re prepared to have the biggest payroll in the league next season
“This summer, he won’t.”
You responded to THAT comment and then pivoted. You basically said “nah, you’re wrong” and then explained why he was right lmao.
Jrue Holiday has pg responsibilities and plays high level defense. Cason just does defense because he is on the floor with SGA, Dub, Ajay, or now McCain so he is never a ball handler and calling an offense.
This summer he won’t because he’s under contract for another year.
He can sign an extension before the season
There are absolutely teams that would pay him like a 3rd option. They know there’s untapped potential given the lack of opportunity he’s had so far. If OKC offers 4⁄80 Wallace should reject it and hit RFA
& they dont want to extend Luguentz
Cason Wallace isn’t even 23 yet, Mitchell just turned 24. So, easy decision.
I just hope Mitchell can stay healthy when the team needs him the most. In his first 2 years he’s already missed a lot of time. His durability this upcoming season will probably determine how much he actually gets paid
I think the Thunder can handle losing their longest tenured guy, but I do worry about that sort of thing in general. Especially when the guy kind of embodies a lot of what the team is about. Like I’m kinda worried about Detroit losing Stew for instance.
Oh you’re not the only one. A lot of us were devastated he got traded especially for the little we got for him. Really need Okorie to be a good player.
Dort doesn’t really set the tone for that team. That comes from Shai and Dub. They still retain a significant veteran presence with dudes like Caruso, ihart, Kenny Hustle, and JWill.
A starting lineup of Caso, Shai, Dub, Chet, and Ihart isn’t really losing much defensively but is much more versatile on offense. Also Shai gets to play off the ball as Wallace is a natural point guard which I think could bring a new dimension to the team.
I’m not a Thunder fan, so I’ll defer to you on this. But I’m talking about him just doing it from the beginning since he’s been there the longest, in an organizational culture sense.
Ironically enough as a Thunder I disagree with the statement that Dort doesn’t set the tone. That intense blurring the line of foul defense that the Thunder play has a lot to do with Dort being the first person you see guarding the ball and being all in his chest. He essentially starts all the madness that drives both fans and other teams crazy lol.
Dort is a poor man’s Marcus Smart. Longest tenure Celtic and they kicked him to the curb and won the championship the next season.
At least we got ours with Dort. Still feel for smart man 😔
Age aside, they’re straight up better
And if they both get near max contracts you can pay your top 5 guys close to 300 million combined in the 30-31 season.
As the man himself once said, scared money don’t make none
Mitchell and cason arent getting near maxed what are you smoking
Ajay Mitchell gonna be looking for Austin Reaves money
Unless Ajay Mitchell makes a huge jump this year, he’s probably looking at Andrew Nembhard money (adjusted for cap increases between Nembhard’s extension & Ajay’s.).
A little more scoring out of Mitchell, but he doesn’t facilitate nearly as well as Nembhard. Both are solid defenders & perform in the playoffs.
yeah i think this is probably the ballpark.
Brooklyn nets it is
Relax
Health has been a huge issue so far, he would need a GREAT year to get anything near that
If he wants to play for the Thunder he’s cutting a friendly deal to win titles. If he wants a max/near mac contract he can just go with whoever pays him the most.
he has a title already. shit as a 2nd rounder, I’m 100% choosing the bag and securing my financial future
He barely played during the title run so I’m not sure that scratches the itch for him entirely
It’d make sense if it was 25 million vs 22 million or something like that. To stay with the Thunder while they retain the Big 3, Ajay Mitchell would have to take a deal in the low teens AAV, AT MOST. Even if he’s injury prone this year, some team absolutely throws him a 20 mil AAV offer to be their secondary creator.
Would make so much sense for Detroit
He makes $2.85m this season. Lets say Cason starts for OKC but Ajay wins 6MOTY averaging 16⁄4 with solid defense.
Ajay’s agents are eyeing a \(40m/year max like Reaves...but first he's got this measly \)2.85m season. Is he really going to turn down every contract offer OKC makes while he’s making less than \(3m? If the options are 1/\)2.85m then hopefully 4/\(185m if he doesn't get injured...or OKC simply declining his team option and immediately signing him to 4/\)135m, is he going to turn down the money in front of him?
\(60m for Ajay and Cason looks like a ton, but if they like Mara and Sorber, they can trade IHart and Caruso's \)45m contracts; Ajay and Cason together only make $15m more than that.
I’m calling no chance they resign him without movies j-dub and he’s just better than Mitchell. I think in 1 or 2 years the OKC depth will lessen.
It’s gonna be interesting to see how they handle these two. They already got some giant contracts on the books.
They literally can’t extend him and Ajay for that money UNLESS they deal Chet/J-Dub OR move off of Caruso and iHart. I could see the latter happening, but then you need a trade partner for those two contracts.
Even at present day, they’re just under the 2nd apron. SGA’s extension kicks in next year, with a $20 million raise. The league has already announced that the cap (and aprons) are shrinking. That fucks over the teams that were banking on the cap rise , such as Boston and OKC.
Thunder fans believed they could’ve kept everyone this summer and it’s simply not feasible for any team.
The cap increases to $165 million next season though
Which is below the original projection that they gave the teams.
Every team in the league based their extensions/franchise outlook on the original projections.
2nd Apron only gets truly, prohibitively scary to billionaire owners with the repeater tax. Say ownership does want to extend Wallace and Mitchell over the next two summers.
They’ll spend 2-3 seasons with restrictions around ways they can add talent, but if they think they’ve got ~12 members of their roster locked in to compete for the rest of the decade, by the time the repeater tax would hit it’s time for a new CBA which will almost certainly be less onerous for homegrown talent.
I think they’re taking the gamble that they’ll have more CBA flexibility to add rookie scale contracts around the edges if Topić/Sorber/Stirtz/Mara/Oweh don’t work out, heading into the 2028 offseason. Otherwise, they’re set with their guys.
That’s somewhat incorrect. Teams can avoid the repeater tax and still get dinged financially. The Thunder aren’t even a repeater team, but were still facing a significant tax bill.
OKC owns 7 FRP’s in the next 3 seasons (potentially 3 next summer), along with massive trade exceptions. They also have 126 second-rounders.
Presti clearly has a rhyme-and-reason. But it’s not to stand pat with who he has (outside of SGA, Chet, J-Dub and most likely Cason, McCain and AJ). That’s the future roster. Everyone else is going to be deck chairs unless they hit. And even then, they don’t have the money to pay anyone outside of that 6. In a salary cap sport, who can?
Totally, but FRPs are extremely fungible assets that may never become players. The trade exceptions are there for the guys who do hit within the system.
I’m saying this is a classic Presti Optionality play. Dort was never gonna get extended. Wallace probably will get extended in the next 6 months. Ajay will get extended too if he keeps playing at 10X his contract. The org is positioning itself to be able to react however they need to, but I also think they’re betting on a much less restrictive rule set once the new CBA is done. I guarantee the dues-paying mid-level/role player union members are going to push hard to give teams the ability to actually pay them in the next CBA’s negotiations, which is where Championship rosters have been made in the modern era.
Today’s “impossibly expensive” roster can become just an “expensive” roster with a couple CBA changes.
The next CBA is four seasons away. Only the big 3 are under contract then, and they are eating up 80% of that cap.
As Bill Simmons already talked about, the projected salary cap is already lower than what the league projected, likely due to failing local deals. A lot of the current NBA revenue is tied to a streaming model that could explode or could fail. If dominoes fall before the next CBA, this is going to look like the early 2000’s where teams suddenly couldn’t afford the deals they handed out.
I said in my first comment 2nd Apron isn’t what scares billionaire owners, it’s the repeater tax. And the repeater tax (or what leads to it) could be significantly different by the time it would affect the Thunder. “3 of the last 4 seasons” gets them to the next CBA with the Dort move, even if they start paying Wallace and Mitchell in 2027⁄2028. It was kicking the can down the road.
Based on what? Thunder beat reporters (who have looked into the numbers far more than me) seem to think it’s possible. What do you know they they don’t.
I’m not sure what you responding to.
“they literally can’t extended them both.” When other people have looked at the numbers and claimed they can extend them both
They’re talking about the desire to extend them, which is a completely different thing.
They’re literally at the second apron next summer already, because SGA’s contract kicks in. The only guy coming off the books next summer is Kenrich. Even with declining the options on Topic and Jaylin, that’s not enough to pay both guys market value (which is probably $48-50 million between the two). They would be knee-deep in the apron.
Which brings me back to the original post you responded to - to extend BOTH Cason and AJ, and stay under the 2nd apron, they’d have to move Caruso and possibly iHart, too.
So this report is intimating that will be the chain of events, since the Thunder plan to extend both guys. Did you want to dispute that?
I think it’s pretty likely we move on from Caruso, especially if that opens room for these two
If they’re not trading Chet or J-Dub next summer, then they don’t really have an option.
Why would they want to get under the 2nd apron
It’s what they build the roster for lmao
Do you not understand why they traded Joe and Dort this summer?
Well yes, because they don’t want to pay them near 30 mil to be the 8th and 9th option on the playoffs.
The luxury tax alone would be eye watering
Dort was the starter, chief.
Do you understand the implications of being in the 2nd apron and what the repeater tax can do?
Ofc. Something that the Thunder won’t ever find out since the CBA would run out soon lmao
What?
Literally, they can extend him for the full 25% if they wanted.
25-30/year for Wallace, 20/year for Mitchell?
at their ages? thats gonna be tough, id guess more for mitchell for sure
mitchell will take some kind of a discount because okc would be declining his $3m team option in ‘27-‘28 and giving him a raise on that.
okc declining that option and giving him 5⁄100 (20m / year) would be the equivalent of him playing out his current contract and another team giving him 4⁄96 (24m / year) the year after
thats an excellent point re: control of that last year and using it as leverage. im very curious to how he performs this year because if he continues on his trajectory he may blow past that 100m offer
How they even afford to decline that Mitchell option though? Already 3M over the second apron in 2027 without a salary for Wallace. Can they really afford to add another ~17M in salary on top?
I kind of agree. That’s at least 200M annually just for those two and the three maxes for OKC.
Yeah I think Mitchell makes more than Cason. Cason’s a role player anyone in the league would love at the right price. But Ajay could be 6MOTY next season and suddenly look an awful lot like Thunder 6MOTY James Harden or Jalen Brunson as a guy that can transform a franchise. (All left-handed guards, coincidentally.)
So 25 for Wallace, 30 for Mitchell? That’d put them at about 55M over the second apron for 2027-28. About 290M in salary, with another 270M in luxury tax payments on top of that. Not a realistic tax payment, they’ll have to cut at least 20-30M in salary, 50M if they want out of the second apron. In the following year 2029-30 they’ll be a repeater tax team too. That’d bring the tax payment alone to about 750M dollars if they don’t trade anybody.
There’s no way they can afford both players unless they dump one of their max deals, or unload Caruso, Hartenstein and 2-3 of the rookies to get under the apron. And even in that second scenario, they’ll still get screwed once the repeater tax kicks in for 2029-30. That’ll be a 100M tax payment on top of a 220M team salary.
So if they do both of those extensions, I’d see them probably dumping Caruso after this season, and after 27-28, dumping Hartenstein and 2-3 of the rookies. That’s the only way to afford those extensions. And that’s assuming they can get a 50-100M annual tax payment from their owner.
So the team starting in 28-29 becomes Shai, Williams, Holmgren, Wallace, Mitchell, (~215M in salary) and minimums to fill out the roster. Even then they’ll end up in the second apron. Can’t even afford a mid-first rounder’s salary. Their depth will be gone in two seasons.
I’d like to see Ajay play a full season.
Mitchell will get more than Wallace
So 25-30 for Wallace, 30-35 for Mitchell? How could they afford that?
It would involve losing iHart (hence drafting Sorber and Mara) and going deep into the second apron. The Thunder haven’t paid the tax for 6 years and are under the 2nd apron this season so the theoretical plan is they can be very expensive for 3 seasons starting 2027-28.
Let’s goooo
Well this was obvious lol. Curious to see Cason Wallace market. He had a nice stretch of scoring mid season too.
just made an all defensive team, no less than 20m per year.
id guess he gets around 28-32 per year
My guess is 30m aav
Yeah no shit
Presti essentially admitted that they had to save \( this summer to apply that \) to the next few years when the big 3 max contracts kick in.
Another thing not being talked about is that OKC tries to be player-friendly to loyal players. They knew Dort was now like the 5th guard in the rotation and didn’t want to screw him over on a contract year while also paying him starter money.
As we should. Cason and Ajay are both better than Dort and will eat a ton of the mins that will be avail with his departure.
Good to hear that OKC has plans to keep Ajay AND Cason around.
Onsi trying to copy Presti’s homework but making it super obvious
Dort was expiring tho. Is losing him as an option to play worth 3 seconds?
Ummm probably? If he was going to leave or they wouldn’t have money for the other two guys here, then they probably see that as a great deal. They are already so good anyway, they will easily fill in Dort’s role.
But they could have just let him leave next year. Of course they can replace him but he’s better than an open roster spot
Roster minutes are a zero sum game. Less Dort means more Caso, more Ajay.
All guys who got hurt a lot over the last two seasons. Actually not Cason I thought it said JDub
Let him leave for nothing or get something in return is a no-brainer.
Usually when shedding salary teams have to trade picks with a player. Presti got a return for each player including Dort on an expiring contract.
No they would have gotten him playing for the team this year. How valuable is that is up to you.
And you don’t have to trade picks with a player like Dort. Okc even thought that when they picked up the option. But everyone knew they were trading him and wanted no salary back so his value got depressed
the choice is between 3 2nd rounders or lu dort playing this year
really this is just about saving a bunch of money on the tax this year
Yeah and right now I think the Thunder with
Wallace, SGA, Dub, Chet, ihart is a more versatile line up offensively without losing much of anything on defense.
Then they save money this season to have it when Shai’s extension kicks in.
Or have those guys just take over the minutes in an increased role, because they can already handle it AND they get three second round picks for similar production.
Sure they will probably be fine. Dort can still do things those guys can’t tho and could have been useful. They are trying to win a ring and got rid of talent.
1 real SRP from the Mavs
The 2 SRPs from the Hawks are protected 31-55
Thanks. I knew there weren’t amazing but didn’t feel like looking it up
Those Hawks picks aren’t conveying unless that team implodes. They aren’t going to be the 5 worst in the league.
They don’t need to convey, they are trade assets regardless
they aren’t assets if they aren’t going to convey
You can still trade them…?
Stein going to report that water is wet and the sky is blue next
Yup, people forget that being in the second apron for multiple years is detrimental to a franchise, no matter how good you are. Gotta manage your cap and look 4-5 years into the future. It’s not a year to year thing
Teams need to operate within the salary cap, more at 11
Dort was their primary defender. OKC will still good but I think they struggle to contain the stronger guards and forwards
As expected.
The Thunder made a lot of moves to save money (also with Isaiah Joe).
I think GMs saw how Ishbia’s attempt to go over the 2nd apron did not go well.
Going over the apron with Brad Beal is a lot different from going over the apron with championship winning role players.
Yeah, the other part was avoiding the luxury tax
Let’s not bury the lede here…
you mean the 2nd apron, right? the thunder are absolutely going to pay the tax this coming season.
luxury tax kicks in $21.25 million before the 2nd apron.
They’ll probably end up having to trade those guys too
I can’t wait until they hit the 2nd apron and have 90 2nd round picks no one wants
i cant wait until denver hits the luxury tax with only 10 rostered players, their star player on an expiring contract and no future first round picks to trade….oh wait, that’s already happened
Good one Sparky
thank you
You’re welcome
If Lu Dort wasn’t giving them a rep as a dirty team, he might have stayed. But, easy decision.
I don’t imagine anyone in the building cares about that
Don’t care if he’s a star. But Dort is not.
you think front offices make decisions based on half-baked opinions from the NBA Twitter and Reddit world?
That was a league wide rep developing.