NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 offseason targets for the Oklahoma City Thunder
In the wake of a disappointing 2018 season, who can the Oklahoma City Thunder add this offseason to improve their rotation?
After an all too foreseeable flameout in their round one series against the Utah Jazz, the Oklahoma City Thunder are entering a mine field in the 2018 offseason. Though they began the year as fringe contenders, an early playoff exit seemed like a fitting destiny for the Thunder by the time the Jazz had finished them off in six games. This bunch never really fit together, playing an inconsistent brand of basketball all year. They never flashed the championship pedigree we thought they might have and even worse, the front office doesn’t have many tools to improve the roster.
The Thunder will be operating as an over the cap team this summer, but serious tax concerns will limit their ability to acquire talent. Russell Westbrook’s gargantuan Designated Player Veteran Extension will kick in on July 1 and Carmelo Anthony opting into his massive 2018-2019 salary seems like a mortal lock. This team is facing cap hell. If the Thunder end up bringing back George at his maximum, their tax bill could climb into the $80-$100 million range by the time they assemble a complete 15-man roster. That’s an insane figure for a team that didn’t even sniff the Conference Finals. Using the stretch provision on Carmelo or Kyle Singler (or both) could alleviate some of that tax burden, but again that won’t necessarily free up any substantial roster construction tools for them.
Although trading for Paul George last summer was a worthwhile and necessary risk, the immediate future of this team now hinges on his decision in free agency. Keeping PG will obviously priority number one for the Thunder this summer. If OKC can’t retain George, which looks likely at this juncture, the future could get ugly fast. But losing him would open up a few financial avenues for the team. The Thunder would have a less costly pathway toward using either the taxpayer mid-level exception (about $5.5 million annually) or the full MLE (nearly $9 million per year). But even a future that includes George doesn’t seem as bright as it did in July 2017. If PG returns, the Thunder will have to focus on the fringes of the roster. And peripheral additions at the league minimum level don’t usually boost a mid-tier playoff team into serious contention.
In any case, matters are getting especially tricky for Sam Presti and the OKC front office. We’ve seen Presti conjure up some magic before, but the Thunder have few attractive assets. They are going to have to make due with limited resources. Oklahoma City has backed into a precarious spot and a few missteps this summer could submarine the franchise moving forward. Here are five realistic targets that could help them out in the coming seasons.