The Oklahoma City Thunder just added another inifinity stone to their gauntlet of talent, with All-NBA forward Jalen Williams returning from offseason surgery to make his season debut. No one may be happier than Lu Dort, who might just get to stay on the team past this season thanks to Williams.
The financial hammer awaiting the Thunder in the coming years is a well-discussed topic. They have done better than any team in modern history of assembling a championship team without breaking the bank, but next season things will start to get difficult. The league's current rules harshly penalize expensive teams, and it is hard to keep a title team together without getting expensive.
Next season, new contracts for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will kick in, pushing the Thunder's payroll up by tens of millions. The casualties will likely come from the team's role players; Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort have team options that, if declined, would clear $46.7 million from the Thunder's ledger.
With players in the wings ready to step up into Dort's role, it looked like the beloved Thunder wing could be playing his final season in Oklahoma City. But thanks to the timing of Jalen Williams' return, he might just get to stick around and win another ring or two with the only team he has ever played for.
The Thunder could afford to keep Dort now
Jalen Williams signed a maximum rookie extension this past July that locked him up for the next five seasons after this one. Included in that contract was a "Rose Rule" provision that allows decorated young players to earn more than the 25 percent maximum amount.
If Williams won MVP (a difficult proposition when playing alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Defensive Player of the Year (more in reach, but Chet Holmgren's skinny frame is in the way) or made an All-NBA team (which he did last season), his contract would increase. While he would certainly have earned that increased number, it would mean the Thunder's total payroll was pushed even higher.
While Williams may still turn in an All-NBA caliber season, by missing 18 games already this season he is ineligible for postseason awards, which require playing in at least 65 games. By making his return when he did, he has already cost himself millions of dollars. He could have made as much as $289 million over five years; now he will make just $241 million. A hefty sum, to be sure, but a major difference for both Williams and the Thunder.
Jalen Williams has now missed 18 games and is ineligible for postseason honors. Williams signed a five-year $241 million rookie extension with Oklahoma City in the offseason. The extension would have increased between $250-$289 million if Williams was named All-NBA this season.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 24, 2025
Just looking at next season alone, the difference is estimated at around $8.3 million. That could be the difference in the Thunder moving off of Lu Dort's $18.2 million or instead looking to move a smaller-tier contract like Aaron Wiggins, or declining Kenrich Williams' team option. Not only does that mean Dort gets to remain with the Thunder, but he is likely to make less on the open market than that $18.2 million number he is in line to make next season.
The pathway to making this championship team financially viable for next year and beyond is difficult, but not impossible. It will eventually mean saying goodbye to some beloved members of a title team. For now, however, the chances of Lu Dort sticking around have gone up.
All thanks to Jalen Williams and his patient return.