Though all eyes may be geared toward the situation with center Isaiah Hartenstein and his future with the OKC Thunder, Lu Dort's contract dilemma is perhaps even more polarizing.
As things currently stand, the All-Defensive talent has one more season remaining on his current pact, a club-controlled option. On top of this, directly following the 2026 NBA Finals, he'll be eligible to sign a new multi-year extension with Oklahoma City.
However, despite having all of these ways to remain united beyond this year's campaign, there's a real possibility that Dort's days playing in the Sooner State may, in fact, be limited.
Summer decisions will speak volumes about Lu Dort's Thunder future
As things currently stand, the Thunder are projected to be north of $20 million over the second apron next season.
Though it has been widely believed that declining Hartenstein's $28.5 million option is the most obvious approach to dodging the dreaded tax penalties that come with exceeding such a threshold, in many ways, deciding to part ways with Dort's $18.2 million payday, as well as, say, Kenrich Williams' remaining $7.2 million, instead, could be the more strategic choice.
As Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus recently argued, holding onto I-Hart is something that could give Oklahoma City a major boon, as he's an already established difference-maker in coach Mark Daigneault's scheme and serves as much-needed depth within an incredibly shallow and injury-riddled frontcourt.
While Dort certainly fits the descriptor of established difference-maker, considering the ridiculous amount of talent the Thunder already have in their backcourt in the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Alex Caruso, Jared McCain, and Cason Wallace, highly efficient two-way players are a dime a dozen within their guard rotation with or without him.
On top of this, the aforementioned Wallace also finds himself eligible to sign an extension with the Thunder this coming summer. Being that he's four years younger than Dort and has an incredibly similar way of impacting the game, if it were a choice between the two, it's hard to believe Sam Presti wouldn't go with the more youthful option here.
Now, granted, there are still serious benefits to the idea of keeping the veteran beyond 2025-26 -- after all, at just 26 years old, he's one of the game's premier defenders and, along with SGA, has been a part of Oklahoma City's rise to budding dynasty status since the beginning.
At this point, there's truly no telling what the front office's long-term plans are for their beloved leader in Dort.
Their actions during the offseason, be it by way of extending him, cutting ties with Hartenstein, or re-upping with Wallace, will truly speak volumes.