The newly crowned NBA champion OKC Thunder delivered a fairytale season in 2024-25: a small-market title, a hyper-young core, the MVP, and a vault of future protected picks still at their disposal.
It doesn’t get more perfect until you do the math. The team just committed nearly a billion dollars in long-term extensions for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.
As their core’s value have risen, so, too, has the cost of keeping key role-players like Isaiah Joe, Lu Dort, and Isaiah Hartenstein in tow. Under the new CBA, Oklahoma City will eventually be unable to pay everyone without triggering the punitive second apron.
That looming apron isn’t just a financial barrier, but, rather, a threat to the Thunder’s very identity and organizational philosophy.
Fortunately, their success didn’t stem from a “Big Three.” It has come from a deep, interchangeable roster that thrived from one through 15.
Preserving that depth and not assembling a top-heavy, star-driven lineup remains their clearest path to sustaining a dynasty rather than fading as a one-season wonder, and there are two crucial courses of action they must take to lock in this luxurious fate.
Thunder must follow two paths to secure dynasty status
Trade expiring contracts for long-term assets
Rather than letting valuable players walk out the door for nothing once their contracts expire, GM Sam Presti must look to flip impending free agents with team options like Dort or Hartenstein, who both can demand contracts surpassing three years, $80 million, for cost-controlled talent on good contracts, likely on middle-of-the-pack teams, similar to what happened with the Josh Giddey trade.
These moves recycle NBA-ready contributors on affordable deals and keep the roster competitive under the cap while offering high-upside players to teams that can afford the wages these OKC players deserve.
Double down on draft development
Presti’s knack for extracting gems outside the lottery remains unmatched. Armed with 14 first-round picks over the next five years, he can continue building depth through rookie contracts.
The recent selection of center Thomas Sorber, for instance, could be a future cost-conscious successor to Hartenstein.
It’s a gamble in development, but a calculated one given Presti's history of hitting on those exact picks.
Consider the current secondary core of Wiggins, Wallace, Joe, and Dort. They're all homegrown contributors who embody the Thunder’s developmental excellence.
They were scouted with a clear vision for the team’s identity, and through strategic development and full system buy-in, they evolved into essential pieces of a championship-level roster.
OKC has clearly mastered the formula. Not only have they been able to identify players who are capable of transitioning from elite college producers to impactful NBA role players, but they have also cultivated the environment necessary to get them there.
Presti’s dilemma is enviable -- he already has a returning championship nucleus locked in for the next several seasons. Now, it will come down to his ability to navigate the payroll crunch.
Blending philosophies from both of these blueprints will decide whether this is a fleeting peak or the launchpad of a long-standing Thunder dynasty.