OKC Thunder salary cap sheet review and future roster options

With the OKC Thunder preparing for the draft fans are eager to witness who’ll be donning the jersey next season. The other side of the equation is what happens to the existing roster since spaces will need to be created to make room for the rookies.

Vice President of Basketball Operations and GM Sam Presti has copious options at his disposal such as sending players overseas to work on their games. But that’s not likely to happen with the top draft picks of which the Thunder could have two in the lottery range if the balls bounce right on June 22nd.

The clear goal is to give the youngsters as much time on the court as possible with the hope the extended minutes versus elite teams will accelerate their growth.

With that in mind, space will need to be created on the roster to accommodate the new players. Some players will be traded, or not re-signed but there are also options within the salary sheet.

Reviewing OKC Thunder salary cap sheet and future roster options

At the top of the list is Al Horford who Presti will try to trade this offseason likely with the mission of restocking the draft closet. The big man has two years left on his contract owed $27 million in 2021-22, and $26.5M in 2022-23.

However, his contract becomes more appealing to potential trade partners since the final year of his contract isn’t fully guaranteed. Rather only $14.5M is guaranteed, although if the team he gets traded to wins the title next season then the guarantee increases to $19.5M in 2022-23.

Mike Muscala has made it clear he wants to return to OKC with his teary praise of the franchise in his exit interview. He’s been a great soldier for the Thunder delivering everything he was asked to do but it will be hard for Presti to re-sign him unless others are released.

With Horford likely on his way out Muscala would provide a great veteran voice and example for the young club. Ultimately, it might come down to who is added in the Horford deal and whether Presti elects to retain those players.

Free Agents who could receive qualifying offers:

There are two players that might get qualifying offers from Sam Presti which if accepted would lock them in for next season and make them restricted free agents. If they refused or OKC elected not to make them a qualifying offer they would become unrestricted free agents.

The likelier of the two players to get an offer is Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk who completed his contract at the end of this campaign. He’s provided 3-point shooting so Presti may be weighing which of Muscala or Mykhailiuk he would prefer re-signing (if either).

Tony Bradley is the other player who Intentions has been high on. With the signing of Moses Brown, it seems unlikely Presti would retain another stay-at-home big man. Brown has quickly carved out a role given how well he rebounds the ball but personally, I like the upside of Bradley and his overall skill set better.

Team and Player Options:

Diving deeper into the salary sheet there are options for players to consider. Kenrich Williams has a team option on each of his next two seasons for $2 million. As Mark Nilon noted the forward has carved out a role on the club and his contract is one of the most economical values on the entire roster.

One date to keep an eye on is July 3rd, 2021. It’s the deadline for Isaiah Roby‘s contract which becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived by that date. To be fair, Roby had a productive season and arguably is one of the best fits for the team’s positionless system. The same cutoff date applies for Roby in the following season (July 3rd, 2022).

Three players’ contracts will have deadlines to keep in mind after next season. Gabriel Deck, Theo Maledon, and Moses Brown are all fully guaranteed for 2021-22 but moving beyond next season are vulnerable to be waived.

Deck will become guaranteed if not waived by September 20th in 2022, and again in 2023 on the same date. Likewise, Maledon isn’t guaranteed beyond next season. Brown has partial guarantees after next season. Brown’s deadline date of December 1 in 2022 and 2023 will guarantee $923k and $998.8k guarantees if he’s not waived prior to those dates.

Two-way contracts:

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Finally, decisions will need to be made regarding Josh Hall and Jaylen Hoard in terms of whether the franchise retains them as two-way contracted players or elects to upgrade them to full varsity contracts, or lets them walk.

Vegas Summer League is supposed to return this summer so at a minimum the franchise will likely want to take a look at them with the OKC Thunder Summer League roster prior to making any decisions.

Trades from existing roster or flipping assets included in new deals:

Over and above these various scenarios of players on the roster with specific salary caveats the Thunder could make additional trades. Last offseason the front office was extremely busy restructuring the roster which led to trading Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams.

With only Al Horford on the block this offseason it might be reasonable to assume it won’t be quite as busy. Then again, Presti demonstrated via the trades last fall how quickly he was able to flip the assets from those deals.