Oklahoma City enters the opener carrying last season's best net rating and a title to defend, but the bill for keeping that roster together is already due. The question hanging over training camp is not whether this group can win — it's how long Presti can keep paying for it.
The Price of the Core
Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each carry a $41.5 million salary this season, with Gilgeous-Alexander just behind at $40.8 million. Isaiah Hartenstein adds $23.1 million and Alex Caruso another $19.6 million, and together the group pushes Oklahoma City's payroll to $216.2 million — above the $200.4 million luxury-tax line and above the apron that limits what Presti can do once the season starts. That ceiling restricts trade aggregation and hard-caps the roster, not just the size of the check ownership writes.
The Case for Patience
The roster that produced that bill also produced the league's best net rating last season, 11.1, built on a defense that finished first and an offense seventh at a 100.4 pace. Oklahoma City clinched the West's top seed for a third straight year on April 9 and went on to beat Indiana for the title. The core is still young — Gilgeous-Alexander is 28, Holmgren and Jalen Williams are in their mid-twenties — and the 2029 and 2030 picks, both rounds, remain fully Oklahoma City's own, a cushion Presti hasn't needed to spend yet.
Where the Math Gets Hard
The 2027 and 2028 firsts are already wrapped into trade swaps, and one more contract could push the group into the second apron's harsher rules. Camp has not made the case easier: two preseason defeats, 110-116 to the Pelicans and 126-128 to the Bucks, came with eight players — including Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Jalen Williams — tagged day-to-day heading into the trip to Atlanta. The answer, for now, is that Presti keeps this group intact through at least one more title run, spending the 2029 and 2030 picks as the release valve before the tax bill forces a trade.
Is Oklahoma City actually over the salary cap?
Yes. The Thunder's $216.2 million payroll sits above the $200.4 million luxury-tax line, with Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander holding the three largest contracts.
Do the Thunder still control their own future draft picks?
Only partly. The 2027 and 2028 firsts are wrapped into trade swaps, while the 2029 and 2030 picks, both rounds, remain fully Oklahoma City's own.
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