Video: Salary Cap Issues Could Make for a Different Looking Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder may by fifth in the western conference standings, but according to Hoops Hype, they are third in payroll ( behind Portland and Miami). The Thunder is spending more than $133,000,000 in salaries, and for that investment, they are looking at a first-round playoff matchup with the Jazz.
Sam Presti and Clay Bennett will argue that is not money well spent. ESPN's Bobby Marks reported that Oklahoma City would pay $2,000,000 in luxury tax at the end of this season. While that might not seem like much if you're one of the three smallest markets in the NBA, you need more bang for your buck than being in the middle of the conference pack.
Since signing Russell Westbrook to a $200,000,000 super-max contract, the Thunder have been living in cap hell. They have been able to make trades and gain the likes of Paul Geroge, Danilo Gallinari, Dennis Schroder, and Chris Paul, but they've lacked the wiggle room to add depth.
Only through Presti's ability to manipulate the trade market, have the Thunder been able to remain relevant. But, even Presti will tell you that if Oklahoma City is going to get back to the standard, it set in the mid-2000s of being a real championship threat they will have to rebuild. Rebuilding means going young and shedding expensive players like Paul.
How easy it will be to accomplish that goal lies in whether the NBA can finish out this season. Per Albert Random of Heat Hoops, the association could lose as much as 2-billion if the season is canceled.
No season could mean the cap and the tax could fall between 30-36 million dollars. If this scenario plays out, the majority of teams would be in the luxury tax.
In this case, Random says the NBA and the NBPA might need to stabilize the situation by agreeing to any number of things, including letting the salary cap fall to an arbitrary number. Under this plan, the tax line will fall more, but the penalties will be adjusted so as not to cost teams as much.
Danilo Gallinari, Nerlens Noel, and Andre Roberson all come off the books. Roberson is most likely gone, Gallinari could find his number of $22,000,000 reduced substantially in the open market and Noel is proving he's worth way more they the $2,000,000 plus the Thunder are currently paying him.
Mike Muscala would be crazy not to exercise his player option for 2.2-million, while Detonate Burton, Hamidou Diallo, and Abdel Nader all have team options. The Thunder's future is also predicated on if Presti can move Chris Paul and the $85,000,00 he's due in the next two seasons.
Your hope, if you're Presti, is you can trade Paul without losing any draft capital if you're ready to rebuild. And there is the multi-million dollar question, we know the Thunder don't want to pay any more tax but are they prepared to return to 2008, and risk fans losing interest. Stay tuned; this is going to be riveting.
