Luguentz Dort has almost certainly played his final game in an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform.
The realities of the second tax apron era of the NBA, coupled with an absolutely disastrous performance in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, will combine to ensure that Lu Dort is moving on this summer.
Lu Dort is beloved in OKC
A beloved piece of the Thunder for years, the undrafted wing has the type of underdog story that fans love. Not even selected in the 2019 NBA Draft, the former Arizona State guard fought his way into the rotation and then the starting lineup -- as a rookie.
Dort has played 432 games for the Thunder in seven seasons, starting 423 of them. He has started all 54 playoff games over that span as well, including all 15 this year. Head coach Mark Daigneault never pivoted away from him as one of the team's necessary starters.
The problem is that Dort clearly was not one of the team's five best players, not even with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell sidelined. Given as much leash as possible, however, he hung himself with it (metaphorically speaking).
Lu Dort was truly awful
In Game 7, Dort started but played less than 16 minutes. He shot 1-for-4 from the field, secured a single rebound and tallied two fouls. Two of those shots were ill-advised contested 3-pointers on back-to-back scoring chances for Dort. One was an airball.
He finished a team-worst -9 for the night.
It was a continuation of a terrible series for Dort, whose inability to recognize a bad shot, coupled with his mediocre shot-making, produced an offensive disaster for the Thunder. In seven games, Dort shot 5-for-25 from 3-point range, a frigid 20 percent from deep.
Most damning of all, Lu Dort logged a negative plus/minus in each and every game of the series, putting the Thunder in a hole to start every game. Between Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso and Jared McCain, the Thunder had a plethora of better options.
And have those options moving forward, especially when you add Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell back in. There is no way to justify continuing to invest in and start Lu Dort as this team continues to move forward. And that's before you get to the money.
The Thunder will move on from Lu Dort because of money
The Thunder have next contracts for Williams and Chet Holmgren kicking in this summer, and their team salary is skyrocketing up toward the second luxury tax apron. They will need to cut salary this summer to maintain the ability to improve the team, and even more down the line to handle new deals for Wallace and Mitchell.
Lu Dort is entering the fifth and final year of an $82.5 million contract that he signed in 2022, but the Thunder hold a team option for the $18.22 million amount. They can decline the option and wipe his money entirely off the books.
That would be a painful move for the franchise, walking away from the long-tenured emotional leader of the team. If his ability to fire up the team was worth the money, however, it probably would have had an impact in this massive series.
Instead, the Thunder did not play with the same fight as the Spurs, and Dort was entirely overwhelmed. The Thunder have better, younger, cheaper options.
If they were unsure of their decision a couple of weeks ago, it is crystal clear now. The Thunder will decline Lu Dort's option, and he will find a new team next season. Game 7's absolute dud demands it.
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