The Oklahoma City Thunder are riding high as NBA champions and look to be the top threat to take home the 2026 title as we head into the upcoming season. As we examine their intentionality with team-building, what they choose to do with Lu Dort is going to say a lot about where this team's decision makers' intentions are.
We saw this summer how the Thunder wanted to approach re-signing their main stars. They got all three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams back on long-term, near max deals. The question here is whether they will plan to enter the second tax apron to also keep their role players, or if potential cuts could be coming.
How aggressive Sam Presti and the front office choose to be with the guys on this roster who aren't stars but still helped them win a championship will say a lot. If Dort pushes for a big extension, Oklahoma City could find themselves in a tricky situation.
It's easy for fans to find themselves with emotional attachment to players that helped their team win a championship. Dort and his incredible defensive prowess obvious played a part in helping the Thunder reach the mountain. Now with other talented defenders emerging on this roster, the question becomes whether the organization sees Lu as replaceable or not.
The Thunder may or may not want to break the bank for Lu Dort
There's basically two schools of thought here. The first would be that OKC sees Dort as a true core piece, and someone who fits so well with SGA, Holmgren and J-Dub that they don't want to risk upsetting team chemistry. Sometimes, keeping a championship core together is absolutely worth it.
But then the opposing school of thought is that although immensely import to the Thunder, Dort is ultimately still tradeable if financial flexibility is needed. This could also be the right move if Oklahoma City is confident in someone else stepping into his role and excelling.
The fact that the Thunder still hold plenty of draft capital at their disposal and have multiple cheap contracts on their roster means they can swap in a cheaper wing if Dort's asking price is too expensive. If OKC ultimately extends Lu, it would signal that they believe their championship window is large enough to commit to a pricey role player.
If they opt not to offer the likely big extension Dort wants, it may imply that they have other moves planned on the horizon. Either way, this is going to be a pivotal decision for the Thunder to make, and fans will want to be paying attention.