The OKC Thunder find themselves in arguably the most enviable position in the entire league, and nothing makes this sentiment more apparent than the current moves being made by the Boston Celtics.
Just a year ago, the C's were heading into the offseason riding high off winning their franchise's 18 NBA Championship and surrounded by legitimate buzz suggesting they could be kicking off a new dynastic era for the association.
Fast forward 12 months, however, and the all-in on a repeat ball club now finds itself fresh off a second-round drubbing to their rival, the New York Knicks, and are currently hosting somewhat of a soft fire sale as they look to avoid the penalties that come with exceeding the CBA's dreaded tax aprons.
Now, in the summer of 2025, it's the Thunder's turn to navigate through post-championship life and the pressures that come with chasing not just a second-straight title, but a string of banners over the coming years.
Fortunately for them, they already seem to be on the right track toward staving off the crushing fate that Boston is currently experiencing.
OKC Thunder are built to avoid same fate as Boston Celtics
So far this offseason, the Thunder have made nothing but smart, cost-efficient decisions that are bound to benefit them for years to come.
From the signing of Jaylin Williams to a steal of a new deal to drafting Thomas Sorber as a cheap replacement option for Isaiah Hartenstein once his contract gets too expensive in a few seasons, even after taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy, Sam Presti and company have clearly been approaching the summer with a forward-thinking mentality.
The most recent example of such a strategy came on Sunday when they secured standout rookie Ajay Mitchell to a three-year, $8.7 million pact that gradually descends and has an early opt-out for the 2027-28 campaign.
Unlike the Celtics, who only saw salaries rise around their star tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after shelling out new lucrative paydays to both, the Thunder seem to be setting themselves up for the exact opposite.
Even with the supermax extension of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander already in the books and new contracts for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams on the horizon, with the moves they've made, it's evident that the organization is capable of removing itself from any possible financial burdens rather easily thanks to the abundance of decending, rookie-scale, and non-fully guaranteed deals around them.
On top of this, they're also using their two-way luxuries to perfection with the signings of promising talents Brooks Barnhizer and Branden Carlson and will have up to 11 first-round draft picks coming their way over the next six years alone that they can use to replace some of their non-star, higher-priced players at an affordable rate.
The Celtics are living proof that, without proper arrangements, in this modern era with tax aprons, things can quickly dip into disastrous territory.
Fortunately, it seems the Thunder are more than prepared.