OKC Thunder Projected Top Five in Cap Space This Summer

This summer is the Thunder’s last offseason to spend big before paying extensions.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots past Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) during the second quarter in game six of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

In a pivotal summer for Oklahoma City, the team will have options. And as Sam Presti discussed in his exit interview, every option is aggressive.

It’s hard to view standing pat as an aggressive offseason, but that would mean aggressive and unwavering belief in the current core and what management has built. Oklahoma City’s youthful core will certainly continue improving, and the Thunder could have all it needs on the current roster by extending players.

“Well, I think the first thing you've got to think about is how do we get to this point in time,” Presti said. “We got here by, I think, trying to be extremely thoughtful, trying to be disciplined, trying to operate kind of with, like, independent thinking about how to build the team from the ground up, and now we're in a position where we have some flexibility, as you said. We have some players under contract that we'll be able to have those conversations with that are still quite young.”

Recently, Keith Smith updated his cap space projections, and Oklahoma City was near the top. His projections indicate another route the Thunder could take this offseason which would also be categorized as aggressive.

I updated my 2024 NBA cap space projections:

1. Pistons: $64.4M
2. 76ers: $61.3M
3. Magic: $49.5M
4. Jazz: $38.1M
5. Thunder: $35.3M
6. Spurs: $21.3M

Hornets are a swing team. If Miles Bridges leaves, I project them to have $29.8M in space.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 31, 2024

The Thunder looks set to have the fifth most cap space in the NBA at $35.3 million to spend. The only teams ahead of OKC are Utah, Orlando, Philadelphia and Detroit — in that order. On paper, Philadelphia and Oklahoma City clearly look like the most attractive destinations in terms of joining a contender, but it’s not secret that OKC hasn’t landed a high profile free agent in its existence.

Presti hinted at the offseason, not committing to one direction, but remaining open to the possibility of bringing in a free agent. Ultimately, he’ll always do what he feels will best position the team. With the unique situation of having money to spend on a contender, Oklahoma City is in a good spot either way.

“We're certainly not shutting it down and saying, hey, we're never going to look at an outside addition,” Presti said. “Of course we are. We do every year. But we put that through like a certain filter, decision-making filter, to kind of let us know whether we think this is a positive value decision or maybe something that doesn't really line up and maybe it's just more optical.

“But we'll go as fast as we can but as slow as we have to.”

Oklahoma City is obviously in a good spot heading into the offseason. The team can offer someone like Isaiah Hartenstein a big two-year deal before they have to extend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. The Thunder can also sit back and make smaller moves, reserving that money for extensions, or re-signing role players like Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, and Josh Giddey.

With Presti, the team is in good hands no matter what.

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