12-20-2025, 02:53 AM
I haven't seen people writing about it, but OKC's upside with the picks doesn't insulate them from the issue that the more talent you have the more expensive your payroll tends to get. It look like OKC will have to shed MASSIVE salary in the summer of 2026. Talent will be headed out the door.
If I am seeing correctly, their contract trajectory puts them more than $20M over the Apron 2 limit in the summer - and that does NOT include payroll for the extra FRPs. Adding those at Tankathon's current slots at 3, 20, and 24, puts them at around 265M payroll, which leaves them with a tax bill approaching 300M.
Obviously they will not let that happen.
How they do that, and the changes it makes to their roster, should be interesting. It doesn't necessarily mean they will be a lot worse, but every change to a roster has a ripple effect.
If I am seeing correctly, their contract trajectory puts them more than $20M over the Apron 2 limit in the summer - and that does NOT include payroll for the extra FRPs. Adding those at Tankathon's current slots at 3, 20, and 24, puts them at around 265M payroll, which leaves them with a tax bill approaching 300M.
Obviously they will not let that happen.
How they do that, and the changes it makes to their roster, should be interesting. It doesn't necessarily mean they will be a lot worse, but every change to a roster has a ripple effect.