I paid a lot of money for the New Third Young Master, and I couldn t help but question whether the Thunder would follow the old path of the Celtics

Perhaps it was because of the loss of Harden that only 6 million yuan that year, resulting in missing the opportunity to establish a dynasty, which made the Thunder boss and management unable to let go of it yet, and the team no longer feared luxury tax in their subsequent operations. Boss Bennett paid the luxury tax that was the best in the league for Westbrook and George, which is his attitude; and now, after young people led by SGA, Jewish and Chett have brought their first championship in team history, the management is naturally not ruthless in the stage of rewarding merit.

First, he offered a sky-high contract renewal of $285 million for the new FMVP Shea Kyrgyz Alexander in advance at a price of $285 million for four years, and then struck while the iron was hot, renewing Chet Homgren and Jaylen Williams in advance for $250 million for five years and $287 million for five years. This means that the Thunder spent $822 million to retain the new version of the Thunder Third Young Master, which makes people sigh at the boss Clayton Bennett's generous efforts. He moved the Seattle Supersonics back to his hometown of Oklahoma and promised to bring back the O'Brien Cup to his fellow villagers. Now he has fulfilled his promise and hopes to go further - since the Cosmic Brave in 2018, no team has been able to achieve the feat of defending the title for seven years.

The good news is that Bennett's spending a lot of money will not immediately bring huge financial burdens to the team, because in the new season, Chett and Jewish are still on rookie contracts, and the Thunder can still enjoy the rookie bonus in the last year. What followed was that in the 2026-27 season, when the maximum salary of Homegren and Williams officially took effect, the Thunder would also face the sweet troubles that every championship-level team had to face - sky-high luxury taxes and punishments brought by exceeding the tycoon line.

According to ESPN salary expert Bobby Max, if the current lineup is maintained, the total salary of the Thunder in 2026-27 is expected to reach US$246 million, which will make them surpass the second rich line in one fell swoop. In addition to paying sky-high luxury tax, they will also face a series of restrictions, including being unable to use the middle class, being unable to exchange for one more, getting higher-paid players in the transaction, and not being allowed to claim buyout players. This is also why taxpayers such as Ballmer and Lacob have also begun to converge in the past two years. It can be said that the second rich line is a red line that will not be easily crossed.

Of course, Max also pointed out that the Thunder will have a non-guaranteed contract of $77 million in 2027, which allows them to ensure the flexibility of their salary space. The "king of drafts" Presti also holds dozens of draft picks, which also gives the Thunder more back-up and operation space in the future. However, even so, one topic cannot be avoided: after winning the championship, you are not afraid of luxury taxes and high salaries to retain all the team. This operation is so similar to the Boston Celtics the previous year. Will the Thunder embark on the road of selling teams like the Celtics?

Frankly speaking, this possibility is not ruled out. In recent years, the market value of NBA teams has increased, which has also driven the change of hands of NBA teams. Bosses have either passively or actively chosen to cash out the teams they operate at high prices, and the transaction price records of NBA teams have been refreshed again and again. On the one hand, SGA and Jewish had to pay a maximum salary, which is a reflection of their value; on the other hand, the Thunder gave Chet the maximum salary so readily, for the integrity of the lineup, and it could be sold at a good price if it really wanted to sell it. However, considering that there are rookie bonuses in the new season, Bennett is likely not to take the initiative to seek buyers. As for what will happen in the future, time will give us an answer.