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For the second straight season, the Oklahoma City Thunder will miss the playoffs. And executive vice president of basketball operations Sam Presti has stockpiled more draught capital than any other team in NBA history during that time.
How long will the Thunder be able to amass draught selections, play the lottery? And use their financial freedom to sign unwelcome contracts? They can’t keep kicking the can down the road indefinitely. The squad will have to emphasize winning at some time.
Still, it’s far too soon to blame Presti for his schemes. Keep in mind that the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves have only been in one playoff game since 2006. So perhaps they aren’t the most appropriate questions to pose.
Nonetheless, numerous rival executives were taken aback by the franchise’s silence during the February trade deadline. Why would Presti take on extra undesired contracts for greater draught capital if the team is far below the NBA’s minimum salary?
The answer to that issue might be crucial to the draught and free agency trade seasons, with ramifications across the league.
NBA news: What about free money?
The Thunder have $31.8 million in cap space right now, but it won’t last long. When Shai Gilgeous-deal Alexander’s kicks in and Derrick Favors undoubtedly opt into the last year of his contract at $10.2 million on July 1 (the start of the 2022-23 season), practically everything will be gone.
Only the Thunder have cap space in June. Despite the fact that a couple of clubs expect to have it in July. Presti should be able to either add talent to the roster or absorb undesired pay. As well as selections to add to his collection.
Each season, teams are required to pay out at least 90% of the wage cap. The Thunder are comfortably below the floor ($101.2 million) with their current cap of $112.4 million.
The calculation is a little complex because just a portion of KZ Okpala’s and Miye Oni’s waived wages are counted. After midseason transactions, the team will most likely have to pay the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) about $21.6 million for completing the season below the floor.
Any payroll additions approaching the draught will have no effect on the Thunder’s NBPA debt. On the final day of the regular season, that amount is locked in. It is up to the union to decide how the monies will be distributed. The standard is to award a full share to those who played in at least 41 games and a half-share to those who played in 20-40 games.
Based on the existing roster, this will cost everyone an additional $1.5 million. Aaron Wiggins and Vit Krejci, on the other hand, would each get around $771,000. Presti was given the option of taking on free draught capital at the deadline or waiting until the draught.
