The Spurs have already proven themselves to be a major threat to the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference.
This past season, they even went on to bounce the defending champs in round three of the playoffs en route to repping the West in the NBA Finals.
As if this wasn't enough to strike fear into the hearts of Thunder fans, perhaps the latest update regarding Victor Wembanyama's looming contract extension might.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Spurs cornerstone is reportedly considering re-signing for "less than his maximum rookie scale extension," which, at full scale, would be five years, $251 million.
The aim of doing so, per Fischer, would be to provide San Antonio with greater financial flexibility moving forward, allowing them to continue to sport a title-worthy supporting cast around him.
Being that the Spurs are already one of the youngest cores in the association, dependent on just how much of a pay cut Wemby's willing to take, this news suggests that this runner-up squad could find themselves sticking together for the long haul, which, in turn, would make them an even more menacing foe for the Thunder moving forward.
Thunder bearing witness to dangers of having multiple max contracts
Unlike what Wembanyama is reported to be willing to do, once the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren were eligible to sign max extensions last summer, they quickly put pen to paper -- and rightly so.
After all, no one should shame a player for taking money they earned and deserve.
Of course, as we just witnessed with the recent Jaylen Brown blockbuster, the NBA CBA's newly implemented tax apron thresholds make it extremely hard to keep a contender intact with multiple max-money players on the payroll.
Just ask Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens, who, when explaining his reasoning behind trading away his All-NBA wing, noted how the road to winning another title seems to be a lot more difficult when "70 percent of our cap and such a high percentage of our usage" is attached to just a couple of players.
Come next season, $123.8 million of the Thunder's $233 million payroll is tied up among SGA, J-Dub, and Chet, equating to a whopping 53.1 percent of their owed salary. By the time 2030-31 comes around, this combined salary will hit north of $185 million, assuming Shai opts into his $75.6 million option.
As the rest of the association just bore witness to with the New York Knicks, sometimes a franchise cornerstone taking less money (in this case, Jalen Brunson) can help the front office build a team capable of taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Clearly, Wembanyama is willing to follow this same path. Hopefully, the Thunder and their highly priced star trio can make the money they're making well worth it for the ball club.
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