The MVP cries with ruin looming: this is what the Thunder will cost. “A failure”

The harsh hangover that was coming Oklahoma City is already here but without the desired end of the party in what has been an abrupt end, as if the band of Victor Wembanyama and theirs would have stopped the music suddenly with the elimination in the Conference Finals.

“I failed in my goal, I didn’t get what I wanted,” said the star of the still reigning champion and double MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

However, looking forward can do as much or more damage to the Thunder than looking back.

Without the precious loot that would have been the second ring, the Thunder face a summer of torment in the coffers seeing how much the cost of their squad is going to skyrocket: the salary mass will jump from the 186 million from this year to 250 next season, from only being the 15th most expensive roster in the NBA to being the most expensive next year.

But to those 250 million we must add the 209 million luxury rate for not respecting the third salary limit according to Spotracbringing the Thunder’s total cost next year to about 460 million dollars. A madness that is equivalent in euros to almost 400 million euros.

However, it is not just the waste of money but also the market restrictions for jumping the NBA’s financial limits, which in the case of OKC would include not being able to use the mid-level exception or the use of seven-year draft picks in transfers.

In the NBA there are three types of salary limit, a first that will be 165 next year, a second – called first apron-, of 209 the next year and a third -the second apron-, which will rise to 222. A number far exceeded by the Thunder’s 250.

The restrictive financial rules of the NBA are what have meant that no team has dominated in practically a decade, with seven different champions in recent years that will be eight in the last eight when it wins the Finals between Knicks and Spurs.

The problem for Oklahoma is that Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren They enter the first year of their extension contracts after ending their rookie contract and will precisely become the two most expensive players on the roster above SGA.

Williams will go from earning 6.5 to 41.5 million and Holmgren from 13.7 to also 41.5 million, more than the 40.8 that Gilgeous-Alexander will receive. However, the double MVP He will have a salary of 61 million in the 2027-2028 academic year, the first of the renewal that he signed last summer for 4 years and 285 million.

Although undisputed starters, Williams and Holmgren have been the ones who have failed OKC the most in the series against the Spurs due to their status on the roster, one due to injuries and the other due to performance.

JDub He has missed almost the entire tie, only playing 37 minutes in the first game, 7 in the second and 10 in the sixth due to a hamstring problem. But the point guard’s physical problems were already a long time coming, as he only played two of eight games in the two previous playoffs against the Suns and Lakers and only 33 in the entire regular season, which did not start due to a wrist injury.

For his part, Chet Holmgren put a grotesque end to a very weak series on Saturday with only 4 points and two shots taken, absolutely panicked to attack Wembanyama.

Last summer, the Celtics already traded two starters who seemed irreplaceable as Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. And although anything can happen in the NBA, Williams and Holmgren would not be the shots that Sam Presti, Oklahoma’s renowned General Manager, would go for.

And there are several other players who, due to performance and importance, would be on the starting ramp first. The first of them, a Luguentz Dort who has already been listed as the number one candidate to leave for several months, giving OKC plenty of reasons to do so in the Conference Finals.

The guard scored a 5/23 in triples in the tie against the Spurs, failing in its main mission in attack, which is to score the free shots. The good thing for the Thunder is that they have absolute control over Dort’s future with a franchise option to renew for one more year for 18 million, something that OKC is sure to save.

Even so, the wage bill would continue to be through the roof at 232 million. A difficult case will be that of Isaiah Hartensteinon which Oklahoma also has a franchise option for 28 million. The center has delivered in this series by making life difficult for Wemby and there are few centers as versatile as him in defense, to which he adds his ability to create, score and rebound in attack.

The Thunder could keep Hartenstein at the cost of giving up the combined 27 million they cost Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Kenrich Williamswith little impact in general in these playoffs. Joe (11 million) has a contract until 2027, Wiggins (9) until 2028 and Williams OKC also has a club option of 7 million.

However, the most plausible scenario with Hartenstein could be to renew the German with a contract in which he would earn less next year, because no matter how much the three players previously named leave, the Thunder would prioritize continuing to have a long squad. Keeping Hartenstein at the cost of sacrificing depth doesn’t seem like a realistic scenario in Oklahoma.

Gilgeous-Alexander showed his confidence in Presti and set out to learn from failure.

“I learn more about myself and make progress in my career when I fail and don’t get what I want. I don’t look at this in a different way, I didn’t get to where I wanted this season and there’s a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” reflected SGA, who meets 28 years in July.

The MVP delivered in Game 7 with 35 points and 10/21 shooting, but his shooting efficiency in this series has plummeted from the 55% he shoots in the regular season to 41% and from 38.6% in triples to a 28% from the perimeter. The overwhelming defense of Stephen Castle has been one reason, as has Wembanyama’s presence around the rim.

The pain of failure is felt in Oklahoma but more pain is the headache that the Thunder will have to relieve their coffers, with the noose around their necks with those 460 million What your staff will cost next year. At least, and especially for a management genius like Sam Prestigetting out of the financial quagmire seems relatively easy.