The OKC Thunder have a whopping $123.8 million tied to just three players this coming season and are on the cusp of entering the second apron threshold despite being one player short of a full 15-man roster.
Yet, despite these lofty salary commitments, right alongside the high-priced Big Three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren is someone who, in the eyes of Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, is attached to one of the best bargain deals in the entire league.
In a recent piece penned by the long-time analyst, Thunder youngster Ajay Mitchell was branded as the fourth-best contract the game currently has to offer.
Considering the return on investment they're getting from the soon-to-be junior, a top-five spot in such a conversation is undoubtedly warranted.
Thunder should be cherishing Ajay Mitchell's payday
Last season, Mitchell established himself as fourth in the offensive pecking order for the top-seeded Thunder with 13.6 points per game, literally only trailing established All-NBA talents.
At times, he was even entrusted with second-in-command duties on this front, serving as Robin to SGA's Batman while J-Dub was sidelined with varying injuries.
In 16 starts in the regular season, he posted a notable 14.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists on 41.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc, and, through seven starts during the playoffs, he dropped an even more impressive 18.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steals.
OKC would go 22-1 in such contests.
This kind of production and success rate on its own should be exciting for the Thunder to see. However, when considering it's coming from a guy who's set to make just $2.9 million this coming season, a cap percentage of just 1.7 percent, it becomes even more evident just how valuable he is, especially from a cost-of-production standpoint.
Thunder need to find more Ajay Mitchell-esque talents moving forward
After years of residing in the bottom half of the league in overall team payroll, Oklahoma City is finally experiencing the ugly side of rostering multiple All-Star players.
As noted earlier, the Thunder owe their core trio of SGA, J-Dub, and Chet north of $120 million for next season alone. This is only the first year all three see their max contracts take effect, and OKC will be on the hook for such paydays through at least 2029-30 (Shai has a player option for the following season).
With the way the new CBA is set up, the only real way for a team in a position that the Thunder are in to keep things together is to successfully flesh out the Big Three's supporting cast with players of former second-round pick Ajay Mitchell's ilk.
In other words, finding diamond-in-the-rough talents later on in the draft process and snatching them up with minimum paydays will be vital if OKC wishes to keep their stars together for the duration of their respective deals.
They have the draft capital and past track record necessary to make fans feel confident in this front office's ability to do so.
Now, it's time to execute.
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