This summer, the OKC Thunder committed themselves to a potential total of $877.21 million in new, standard deals, with upwards of $822 million tied up in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren alone.
Though undoubtedly an absurd amount of money to be shelled out in just one offseason, especially during this new era of crippling tax penalties, there's actually a case to be made that this spending spree may actually end up saving the organization some serious coin in the long run.
At least, that's what The Athletic's John Hollinger's findings unintentionally seem to suggest.
How Thunder spent this summer likely will save them money long-term
In his latest piece on rookie contract extensions, the Senior Writer went into depth about players who already received new pacts with their respective ball clubs, discussing them in the order by which their personal price tags stack up among the rest.
Unsurprisingly, the likes of Williams and Holmgren were mentioned at the top of the section, along with Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero, as all three received deals with the same baseline salary of $239 million.
However, the use of the term "baseline salary" is a major factor at play when distinguishing between the three players' paydays.
Hollinger was quick to point out how he's "a little worried" about the breakdown of Banchero's particular contract, while praising the other two deals for their financial structure.
As things currently stand, Banchero is set to earn $41,368,000 in the first year of his new deal, which is set to kick in in 2026-27. Said number is the same for J-Dub and Chet, which is 25 percent of the cap.
However, due to designated player language, this number could ultimately skyrocket up to 30 percent of the cap if he were to earn third-team All-NBA honors. In an incredibly weak Eastern Conference, accomplishing such a feat is certainly a good bet.
Meanwhile, Williams, an already established All-NBA talent, would only see his salary increase one percentage point if he were to earn this nod once again, whereas Chet, the big man who's currently second in the odds department for the Defensive Player of the Year award this coming campaign, would remain at 25 percent due to stellar negotiating from GM Sam Presti.
On top of this, both Thunder studs are fully locked into the entirety of their agreements, as they possess no opt-out clauses in either direction.
Banchero's, on the other hand, holds a fifth-year player option which, between that and the potential 30 percent supermax incentive, "basically squeezed all the potential upside out of the deal" for the Magic.
Add these points to how Banchero is not perceived to be a max-level player according to Hollinger's BORD$ formula, the fact that Orlando is already projected to be a second apron team once his contract kicks in, and the calculations suggesting that Williams' deal alone could save the Thunder roughly 10 percent of the cap in the end, and it's easy to see why many have been so high on Oklahoma City's activities this offseason, even if it may have come at a high-end, upfront cost.