Thunder Offseason Preview: Critical Summer Lies Ahead for OKC After Game 7 Loss to Spurs

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s season fell short of the NBA Finals.

After the franchise’s first championship since it moved from Seattle, the Thunder weren’t able to make it back to the Finals one year later. It’s a shock since superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put together his second straight MVP campaign which led to a 64–18 record and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. However, the continued emergence of Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs put a fork in the path of the Thunder’s title defense.

In the conclusion to what was a thrilling Western Conference finals series, San Antonio went on the road and beat the defending champs 111–103 on Saturday to take Game 7 and advance to the NBA Finals for a meeting with the Knicks. Oklahoma City and San Antonio went the distance in what’s hopefully the first playoff meeting in the NBA’s best new rivalry. The Spurs punched first, then the Thunder punched back with two straight wins to take a 2–1 series lead. From there, the two sides exchanged wins and Oklahoma City had an opportunity to close out the series in Game 6, but it fell on the road in a 27-point blowout before a crushing loss in Saturday’s decider that San Antonio controlled throughout.

Now, a critical offseason lies ahead where the Thunder have to make decisions on a handful of key pieces as their roster carries an increasingly hefty price tag thanks to the already locked-down core of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Despite another season with the NBA’s best record, the organization has a couple of opportunities to add an impact player in the first round of the NBA draft with the treasure trove of picks the front office has maintained through masterful trades.

With the Thunder’s Western Conference finals exit, here’s a look at the offseason ahead from roster decisions on current players to draft capital and a look back at another great season where Oklahoma City ultimately left plenty on the table:

Oklahoma City’s 2026 free agents

The Thunder’s core of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren are all locked up through the rest of the decade, which leaves Oklahoma City with few consequential decisions on retaining its roster this offseason. Two-way players Brooks Barnhizer and Branden Carlson are the only free agents and both are restricted. Neither played consequential minutes during the regular season, which leaves the more considerable roster decisions on the handful of players who have team options for next season, plus whatever general manager Sam Presti decides to do on the trade market.

Isaiah Hartenstein has a $28.5 million team option for next season and it’s fair to question whether the value he brings on the floor matches the near $30 million salary. He was great limiting Wembanyama as much as he could in the Western Conference finals, but he appeared in just 47 regular-season games this season due to various lower-body injuries. He played in 57 games last season, his first in Oklahoma City after he joined the Thunder on a three-year, $87 million deal. He had two breakout seasons with the Knicks that led to him becoming the best big man on the free-agent market in the 2024 offseason, but Presti could look to lessen or fully clear that salary as Hartenstein is currently Oklahoma City’s highest-paid player aside from its core trio. Hartenstein could be in for a new deal at a lower price if the Thunder don’t want to look elsewhere to fill the hole in the middle he’d leave.

Luguentz Dort is another key player who has a team option for next season, although at a more affordable $18.2 million price tag. As the longest-tenured member of the team who remains one of the NBA’s most impactful perimeter defenders, that’s a no-brainer unless the two sides can work out a new, long-term contract at a lesser annual value. Kenrich Williams is Oklahoma City’s other player with a team option. His sits at $7.2 million and he’s consistently served as a solid depth piece even if his role has decreased little by little.

Next to Hartenstein, the most interesting roster decision for the Thunder this offseason is whether third-year wing Cason Wallace gets a rookie extension and if so, what it’s worth. He played in 77 games this season and made second team All-Defense as yet another critical defender to the Thunder’s operation, plus one that can knock down shots. Nuggets wing Christian Braun signed a rookie extension last season for five years and $125 million. Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels signed a four-year, $100 million extension on the same day as Braun. Using those two deals as comps, $25 million per year is the ballpark Wallace could get, but that’s an additional commitment for the franchise that already has an expensive roster. Wallace is worth the long-term commitment, especially if Hartenstein’s team option is declined or if he comes back on a smaller deal.

The Thunder are projected to be well into the second apron next season which limits the franchise’s flexibility as the roster gets increasingly extensive. That makes a potential Wallace extension tricky, but declining Hartenstein’s option and reworking Dort’s deal would help ease the books. Either way, the second apron and a huge luxury tax bill is a conundrum the franchise faces due to its established and well-paid core.

Here’s a look at each free agent Oklahoma City has this season with the good fortune of zero unrestricted free agents as the main core remains on the books for the foreseeable future, per Spotrac:

Unrestricted free agents

NONE

Restricted free agents

Brooks Barnhizer (two-way)
Branden Carlson (two-way)

Team options

Isaiah Hartenstein
Luguentz Dort
Kenrich Williams

Extension eligible

Isaiah Hartenstein
Luguentz Dort
Isaiah Joe
Cason Wallace
Kenrich Williams

The Thunder’s cupboard of draft assets remains stocked

Oklahoma City’s treasure trove of draft picks continues this season with the 12th and 17th picks in the first round. The Thunder have both the Clippers and 76ers’ first-round picks this year, with their own pick (No. 30) headed to Dallas. In the second round, they have pick No. 37 via the Mavericks. That’s considerable draft capital to either use in trades to further improve the roster or bring in one or multiple impact players on cheap contracts as Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams’s salaries increase. Plus, rostering incoming draft picks could help the Thunder get out of the dreaded second apron and decrease their luxury tax bill.

In 2027, Oklahoma City has three first-round picks. Its own, Denver’s (top-five protected) and San Antonio’s (top-16 protected). The Thunder can swap their first-round pick with the Mavericks in 2028, which is an intriguing asset depending on how long Dallas’s rebuild around Cooper Flagg takes. Then, the Thunder remain in control of their own first-rounders in 2029, ’30, ’31 and ’32. In 2029 or ‘30, they could also get Denver’s first-round pick if the Nuggets convey a potential first-round pick to Oklahoma City at least two years earlier. That pick would be top-five protected in either year.

Thanks to Presti’s wizardry in trades, the Thunder have extraordinary flexibility and draft capital to play with for years to come. The inverse is that Oklahoma City may have to part ways with some of its recent draft selections that have yet to crack the rotation. Thomas Sorber, the 15th pick in last year’s draft, and Nikola Topić (the 12th pick in 2024) come to mind, but even if the Thunder trade either player earlier than expected, they’d likely receive some sort of draft capital in return and further increase the stockpile of picks.

In case you were tired of the Thunder picking in the first round ahead of where their record would indicate, don’t hold your breath.

Thunder season grade: B+

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points in the Thunder’s Game 7 loss | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

It doesn’t feel right to give a 64-win team anything less than an A grade, but it’s championship or bust for the foreseeable future for the Thunder. What’s most concerning is the issues they had with the Spurs in the regular season and the playoffs. Oklahoma City was very much in the Western Conference finals and had a real shot to win Game 7, but the team must figure out how to get past Wemby and the Spurs now that they will have Finals experience and a full offseason to collectively improve.

That said, the Thunder had a great season where they came close to their 68-win total from last year (those four regular-season losses to the Spurs did damage) and Gilgeous-Alexander had another MVP year. Jared McCain was a true impact addition at the trade deadline and he has two years left on his rookie contract. Williams was limited by injuries, but Holmgren had his first All-Star and All-NBA campaign even if he struggled against the Spurs.

Oklahoma City will remain a top title contender for years to come and it should come back stronger next year as the group looks to avenge the crushing Game 7 loss to San Antonio.

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