While the potential dynasty for the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t come completely off the rails with a Western Conference Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs, it probably seems like it did at this point.
The Thunder, still the defending NBA champions, have now become a footnote to an epic NBA Finals series between the Spurs and the Knicks. When they do come up, it’s solely their failure against the Spurs and what they might do to fix it.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, those fixes aren’t clear, but what it will cost is with massive contracts for their NBA All-Star trio of guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, guard/forward Jalen Williams, and center Chet Holmgren.
Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti released a list of all of the NBA players with at least $100 million in guaranteed money left on their contracts, with the Thunder taking 3 of the top 6 spots with their trio — a looming tab of approximately $790.8 million in salaries over the next 5 years.
SGA occupies the No. 1 spot with a 5-year, $312.4 million contract, followed by Williams and Holmgren tied at No. 5 with matching 5-year, $239.2 million contracts.
Out of those 3, only SGA, the reigning 2-time NBA Most Valuable Player, is untouchable as far as a trade — both Williams and Holmgren seem like they might be available for the right price.
Most Teams Probably Interested in Thunder Duo
If Williams and Holmgren were to be made available via a trade, it’s not hard to imagine the majority of the other 29 NBA teams trying to land them. They’ve been that good for the Thunder.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons named Williams as a possible trade candidate following the season.
Williams is a player who could return multiple 1st-round picks to the Thunder, if not something even more than that.
“OKC has a lot of money to spend over the next couple of years,” Simmons said. “And I just sometimes wonder, like, if it doesn’t work out (for the Thunder) this year, how does that play out … look, he’s looked good lately. I don’t think there’s a lot to worry abou there. But I also think it’s going to be really hard to have three max (contract) guys plus Cason Wallace, plus all these draft picks. And I do wonder, if (the Thunder) are going to take a huge swings, what does that look like? Now, if they win the title again, they’re not trading anybody. But who knows?”
Holmgren Could Be Key in Giannis Trade
Following the Thunder’s Game 1, double overtime loss to the Spurs on May 18, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith came up with a blockbuster trade pitch for Holmgren.
Smith proposed a trade that would send Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, 2 1st-round picks, and 2 2nd-round picks to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for 2-time NBA MVP power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Imagine Shai Gilgeous-Alexander running the floor with Giannis,” Smith said on Tuesday morning. “You put Giannis in that situation, and he’s good for 30 (points) and 11 (rebounds) … Giannis is just a rumor right now as far as what he can do in the playoffs. It’s been that long.”
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