AROUND the NBA:

[windjc]

I assume that ^ is a joke. Because OKC will probably have a multi-player blood-letting this summer. If they keep everyone, they will be FAR over Apron 2, and buried in tax and in consequences for having such a bloated payroll. On paper, they also have too many (more than 15) players locked up, when you include their draft picks. 

They might do some "unexpected" things because of the roster/payroll issues.

1 Their draft picks at 12 and 17 hold value, but because they add salary AND a player too, those picks are in the way in OKC. The salary for a pick just makes their already-impossible payroll even worse. 
... I am hearing that if they do a pick trade, they might NOT want to trade up (even bigger salary to add), they might prefer keeping 17 over 12, they might even trade down from 17, and it's even possible they would trade completely out of this draft, even though it's a "good draft" (if they get a decent offer of a future pick in exchange, 0 picks may be their wish).
2 OKC has multiple "moving parts" to their payroll that they can use to easily lower their payroll. The 2 draft picks can easily be traded, and they have 3 players with team options (Hartenstein, Dort, Ken Williams). 
3 Tax line is expected to be about 201M, and 2nd apron about 221M.
4 If you include all the players under contract, including the TOs, and both picks, they are at about 260M payroll. That would bring a 240M tax bill, plus the extreme roster-building penalties. No way.
5 If they keep NONE of those moving parts - trade away all the picks, and decline all the TO's - they almost fix their payroll. The remaining 12 players total 196.2M payroll, which leaves enough room under the tax line to fill the roster with 2 minimum salary players. 

If they add ANY of those 5 players, they end up over the tax line. There's about 20M space between tax line and A2. Here are the 5 moving parts.
Hartenstein  28.5M [I can envision a possible scenario where his TO is declined, but they re-sign him at ~20M).
Dort            18.2M
K Williams      7.2M
Pick 12          5.8M
Pick 17          4.5M

6 Here's the hard truth. They have to get rid of ALL those moving parts to land below the tax line. 

7 One alternate "stay tax-free" course might be to trade Caruso (19.6M) and then keep either (a) Dort, (b) the 2 picks, or © Hartenstein on a decline-and-re-sign at about 20M. 

8 Can they tolerate a "stay under A2" scenario (which would cost about 40M in tax plus an extra 20M in payroll plus potentially costs them revenue sharing and a share of tax collections)? If so, they could keep a 20M chunk of those moving parts. 

It's not an easy situation to solve. Whatever they do, it sure looks like they will have to make some talent-losing choices that I'm sure they don't want to make.

  No no no no no. Mavs2021 - self proclaimed guru - has laid out multiple posts telling us about all the players OKC can keep. So the only conclusion is they have an exclusion to taxation.

[windjc]

  No no no no no. Mavs2021 - self proclaimed guru - has laid out multiple posts telling us about all the players OKC can keep. So the only conclusion is they have an exclusion to taxation.

Also the following year when SGAs massive increase kicks in, it’s gets much worse for them. So lucky they are immune to the NBA salary cap rules though


And after they win the championship this year no player on that roster is going to take LESS money to resign. Other teams will offer more for championship winners. .

[dirkfansince1998]

Spurs losing their cool. OKC getting exactly what they want. Physical. Dirty. But effective.

[cow]

Wemby needs to get in the lab over the summer because you have to abuse being defended by someone of Caruso's stature in the post.  Spurs need to figure out how to get him more shots too.

Speaking of Caruso, second most important player for OKC in this series.

[cow]

Down goes Fox.

[dirkfansince1998]

Wemby +8 in 28 minutes
Kornet -18 in 8 minutes

Maybe they didn't expect to be this close to winning it all this season but not picking up a better backup big at the deadline is turning into a potentially season ending mistake.

[Chicagojk]

Wemby needs to get in the lab over the summer because you have to abuse being defended by someone of Caruso's stature in the post.  Spurs need to figure out how to get him more shots too.

Speaking of Caruso, second most important player for OKC in this series.

I saw the first half and then got pulled away.  Look at the bench comparison.  Looks like San Antonio can compete with Wemby on the bench, while OKC bench roles with Caruso, J-will and McCain.  They just come at you in waves.  It is quite incredible.

Not saying they are better without him but this year they have played so much without JDUb that him being in and out may interrupt the flow.  

Series not over but first time San Antonio got kicked around.  Let’s see how they respond..

[Mavs2021]

  No no no no no. Mavs2021 - self proclaimed guru - has laid out multiple posts telling us about all the players OKC can keep. So the only conclusion is they have an exclusion to taxation.

Well as long as you are not the self-proclaimed guru of reading ability we all good.

Also Hartenstein will sign for less money, whether it´s with OKC or elsewhere, cause nobody is giving him $30M/year.

[hakeemfaan]

Wemby needs to get in the lab over the summer because you have to abuse being defended by someone of Caruso's stature in the post.  Spurs need to figure out how to get him more shots too.

Speaking of Caruso, second most important player for OKC in this series.

It's easier said than done, because the NBA moved in a different direction a long time ago.  Even Shaq for all his blather about how he would dominate now,  couldn't keep up with the officiating changes once he wasn't allowed to just push and clear folks off the blocks. The officials also now allow bigs to be hacked a lot in the post without fouls being called.  

Wemby got hacked a lot in Game 2 without anything being called.  As a young player who is uber skilled he naturally is drifting to the perimeter. It's up to the coach to let Wemby know to not play into OKC's hands, but the coach and Wemby still need their other players to play better to open up space around Wemby. OKC's defense is still predicated on taking Wemby away first and foremost. 

Dirk made those one legged fadeaways, but Dirk also made 3s, and had a couple of winners in the finals where he took the ball at the top of the key and drove, while our shooters kept the defense honest. Wemby needs better play from his teammates.

[cow]

I saw the first half and then got pulled away.  Look at the bench comparison.  Looks like San Antonio can compete with Wemby on the bench, while OKC bench roles with Caruso, J-will and McCain.  They just come at you in waves.  It is quite incredible.

Not saying they are better without him but this year they have played so much without JDUb that him being in and out may interrupt the flow.  

Series not over but first time San Antonio got kicked around.  Let’s see how they respond..

I've been so impressed by Williams stepping up.  It always seemed like he had more of a Dwight Powell role for the team, but he erased that notion tonight.

I don't really think OKC's bench can compete without Wemby, he just had a weird night. He only had like 7 shots deep into the 3rd quarter. Fox being hurt isn't helping matters and while I don't think it's probable, I really wish they could upgrade him in the near future (never been his biggest fan). The offense can get a little weird with Castle, Vassel, Fox, and Harper being guys that can get their own.

Dirk made those one legged fadeaways, but Dirk also made 3s, and had a couple of winners in the finals where he took the ball at the top of the key and drove, while our shooters kept the defense honest. Wemby needs better play from his teammates.

Actually Dirk and We Believe GSW is what came to my mind tonight. Wemby doesn't need to abuse Caruso with power, he simply needs to be able to get off quality shots over him which shouldn't be too hard with him with getting reps in with a turnaround shot from the post.

The good news is, should OKC go on to win this series, it and the MVP "snub" will be all the motivation Wemby needs.

[Mavs2021]

I saw the first half and then got pulled away.  Look at the bench comparison.  Looks like San Antonio can compete with Wemby on the bench, while OKC bench roles with Caruso, J-will and McCain.  They just come at you in waves.  It is quite incredible.

Not saying they are better without him but this year they have played so much without JDUb that him being in and out may interrupt the flow.  

Series not over but first time San Antonio got kicked around.  Let’s see how they respond..

I was secretly wondering all season long whether trading Jalen Williams is the answer to all their problems. Package him with Wiggins and you can probably get another four 1st round picks. You simply keep #12 and #17, probable Lendeborg will be there.

[Knutsen]

The challenge is - and always will be - that Wemby is so long that a great, swarming defense will always pick the ball when he dribbles inside the three point line.

They need to give him the ball moving and rolling to the basket much more. And the deadliest thing would be if Dirk mentors him on killing it from the elbow - positioning, catching, turning, faking, shooting, sometimes taking a single dribble. Imagine Dirks game there with Wembys size and a similar touch, it would be game over.

[Chicagojk]

I hate OKC, but man do I appreciate them.   Crazy to think their run may just be starting.

It is crazy hard to have such a deep team and keep everyone happy.   Even harder to not play much for a game and then jump right in the next game and produce.   I mean there is a world where the coach makes good decisions but things just go wrong.  That never appears to happen with OKC.   As a team, they all appear to like each other and feels like there is very little ego.    We can all argue how they play and what they get away with, but the players very rarely bitch or cause a scene on the floor.  IMO this is a directive and the type of player they look for.  They don't want players who are constantly arguing with the refs.   I didn't see the second half and it sounds like SA got frustrated, but they to mostly seem to just play.   After watching the brilliance of Luka for a long time, the one area I am not missing is the complaining.   I think when your star (and owner) are your biggest complainers it can poison the waters for everyone.    Ok, that was off target.  

Anyway, Yes I hate them but man are they impressive.   It seems like you need to lay out everything just to win one game.  Series is not over and I think SA still has a shot, but that was impressive last night.

[cow]

Anyway, Yes I hate them but man are they impressive.   It seems like you need to lay out everything just to win one game.  Series is not over and I think SA still has a shot, but that was impressive last night.

They have so much depth it almost feels like they could field two competitive teams.  They never sub someone in who leaves you asking yourself if they can survive these minutes.  

I do kind of feel like the series is over.  Really felt like with their combination of youth and injuries, SA had to hold court at home.  Never say never and all, but yeah..

[dirkfansince1998]

https://x.com/MikeAScotto/status/2058217251048771878

God Shammgod has agreed to join the New Orleans Pelicans as an assistant coach on the front of the bench for head coach Jamahl Mosley, league sources told
@hoopshype
. Shammgod was an assistant coach with Mosley for the Magic and with Rick Carlisle and Jason Kidd on the Mavericks.

[windjc]

They have so much depth it almost feels like they could field two competitive teams.  They never sub someone in who leaves you asking yourself if they can survive these minutes.  

I do kind of feel like the series is over.  Really felt like with their combination of youth and injuries, SA had to hold court at home.  Never say never and all, but yeah..

In today’s NBA that is not financially sustainable.

[windjc]

Also Hartenstein will sign for less money, whether it´s with OKC or elsewhere, cause nobody is giving him $30M/year.

The point is as F Gump pointed out they have no money to pay him.

[cow]

In today’s NBA that is not financially sustainable.

With their asset pool, eye for talent, and being able to develop that talent, I could see them retooling and being a force for a while.  The players on the team might look a lot different due to salary implications, but I wouldn't count them out.

I do wonder who they consider the core outside of SGA.  My hate of Chet usually clouds my judgement there.

[windjc]

With their asset pool, eye for talent, and being able to develop that talent, I could see them retooling and being a force for a while.  The players on the team might look a lot different due to salary implications, but I wouldn't count them out.

I do wonder who they consider the core outside of SGA.  My hate of Chet usually clouds my judgement there.

Soon they will be forced to build around SGA - the highest paid player on the NBA -and Chet. Everyone else will be replaced with cheaper options, because they will be sought after by other teams and OKC can’t max them. Of course they can still compete but it’s no slam dunk.

[F Gump]

With their asset pool, eye for talent, and being able to develop that talent, I could see them retooling and being a force for a while.  The players on the team might look a lot different due to salary implications, but I wouldn't count them out.

I do wonder who they consider the core outside of SGA.  My hate of Chet usually clouds my judgement there.

"I do wonder who they consider the core outside of SGA." -- Great question as to what OK should do, and I'm not sure of the right answer. Their payroll says their core is SGA, J Will, and Chet, as all of those have a max salary. But I'm skeptical of J Will and Chet, and I question whether each is really max-worthy (and if not, would OKC come to the same conclusion and at some point look for a taker). 

This summer for them might be very interesting. They have to do SOMETHING, to shed some salary, but in some ways it seems they might be better served by moving on from different players than the obvious ones (which are the players with TO's, and the picks). If they do, they will be "breaking up" an elite team before they are absolutely forced to - which tends to be a really bad idea. We'll see what they pick.