For most teams, the offseason is unofficially underway as the NBA playoffs enter their final month of games. This means that all 30 teams will soon need to make some tough decisions regarding their rosters.
With a new collective bargaining agreement changing the rules a bit, this will be the first offseason will teams will need to learn to adapt as exceeding the luxury tax can cause more dire financial consequences.
Luckily for the Oklahoma City Thunder, that won’t be a problem in the immediate future.
Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes wrote about the toughest offseason decision each NBA team will need to make this summer. For the Thunder, their problem won’t be spending too much money — it’ll be figuring out how to spend their $30 million in cap space with such a young roster that is mostly filled with rookie contracts.
Hughes proposes the idea of the Thunder offering Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson an expensive offer sheet. The 27-year-old is set to enter restricted free agency after being traded to the Nets during the trade deadline.
“If the Oklahoma City Thunder renounce their various trade exceptions and waive the four players—Isaiah Joe, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aaron Wiggins and Lindy Waters III—on non-guaranteed deals, they could clear upwards of $36 million in cap space. Due to shrewd management, they won’t need to get nearly that drastic to flex spending power this offseason.
The Thunder can still wield around $30 million if they operate more conservatively, and that should be enough to make them serious players in free agency if they choose to go that route…
Restricted free agent Cameron Johnson is an ideal fit and would team with Joe (a no-brainer retention) and the returning Chet Holmgren to add badly needed stretch on offense.”
Johnson is projected to earn around $18 million to $20 million on his next contract which will likely span four years. Before being traded, the Phoenix Suns reportedly offered him a four-year, $72 million extension he declined.
The Thunder could easily meet his demands and offer him a $20 million AAV deal if they choose to do so. In all likelihood though, that won’t happen.
In his end-of-season press conference, Thunder general manager Sam Presti noted that they’ll likely play it conservative in the offseason — as OKC has historically done when it comes to bringing in outside free agents.
The Thunder will likely keep their cap space and use it in upcoming offseasons to keep their young core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey together for the long haul.
