They held onto hope of becoming the first repeat champion since the 2018 Warriors for as long as they could, but on Saturday night, the OKC Thunder were officially eliminated from postseason contention following a devastating loss to San Antonio in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
Despite this upsetting end to their title-defense tour, Oklahoma City clearly still has the makings of staying in the championship contender conversation for the foreseeable future.
Considering they already have their star trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren locked down for the long haul, and possess an obscene amount of draft capital that spans through the early 2030s as a result of truly masterful negotiation skills and wheeling and dealing ways over the years, Sam Presti and company have set this team up for sustained success.
Of course, as a result of factors such as rotational overlap, limited roster space, and the newly implemented tax aprons, it's clear that the Thunder will be forced to make a few tough business decisions this summer that, ultimately, should result in a few familiar faces being sent outbound.
By the looks of things, there seem to be four players, in particular, who are all but certain to be on the chopping block heading into the offseason.
Thunder who are most likely to be sent packing this summer
Kenrich Williams
Since landing with the Thunder back in November 2020 via a four-team trade, Kenrich Williams has established himself as a cherished fixture of the ball club's identity.
From his steady three-and-D skills and all-out hustle to his ability to stay ready to produce at any given moment, the veteran has proven to be the perfect depth piece for all teams looking to contend.
Unfortunately, with their slew of picks in this year's draft alone, Oklahoma City will need to clear some space on the depth chart if they wish to actually utilize any of their incoming capital. Since Williams' 2026-27 season is attached to a team option, parting with his $7.1 million deal would be one of the easiest ways for this front office to clear space on the roster for an incoming young prospect.
Aaron Wiggins
There's no denying that Aaron Wiggins is a highly underrated scoring talent at the wing position.
Over the last two seasons, he's found himself posting impressive per-game averages of 10.8 points on 46.1 percent shooting from the floor and 36.7 percent shooting from deep. Add this production to the fact that he's earning an average annual salary of just $9 million through 2028-29, and there's a strong case to be made that Wiggins is one of the better bargain players in the association.
Unfortunately for him, with the rise of guys like Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain (both of whom are on even less pricey contracts), OKC's need for Wiggins both in the short and long-term has dropped off drastically.
It came to the point where he saw his role in the rotation drop from 21.8 minutes per game in the regular season to just 8.0 minutes per game in the playoffs.
Considering they already have an abundance of affordable sparkplug scorers attatched to rookie-scale deals for the next several years, expect the Thunder to shop Wiggins on the trade market.
Isaiah Joe
Isaiah Joe essentially has the same case as Wiggins for why he's likely a goner this offseason.
A career 40.6 percent long-range shooter, the 26-year-old is attached to an incredibly affordable four-year, $48 million deal with depreciating annual value and has served as a trusty second-unit scoring weapon for the top-seeded Thunder for the better part of his tenure.
Here in 2025-26, the wing went on to post the best statistical season of his career with averages of 11.1 points and 2.5 rebounds on 45.5 percent shooting from the floor and 42.3 percent shooting from deep.
He also served as one of OKC's main offensive options when Shai was hobbled by an abdominal strain in mid-February to early-March, scoring from all areas of the floor and posting sensational averages of 15.0 points on 46.5 percent shooting from deep in such a role.
Unlike Wiggins, however, it seems Joe has already drawn considerable attention from rival front offices as a potential trade target, meaning the offseason should bring a ton of incoming phone calls from prospective buyers of the 6-foot-4 sniper's services.
Lu Dort
Every Thunder fan should have known this one was coming.
All season long, the debate has been who between Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort Oklahoma City will choose as the bigger role player contract to part ways with (both attached to team options next season) to help the team duck below the dreaded second apron threshold that, if they stand pat, would take over next season.
Already, with the presence of Cason Wallace, a much-younger, higher-upside player at the same position who provides essentially the same skills (elite defense, open shot-making abilities, etc.) and will be eligible for a contract extension, it seemed that the beloved veteran could very realistically be the easier choice between the two.
Now, with an incredibly rough, ill-fated postseason run that saw him average just 5.6 points on just 37.2 percent shooting from the floor while registering a minus-0.7 plus-minus and an astronomically bad defensive rating of 117.2, it seems the nail in the coffin has officially been hammered in for Dort
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