This summer in NBA offseason activity feels like an especially wild one, even by the NBA’s standards. One of the greatest players of all-time took his talents to Los Angeles, and the Golden State Warriors responded by adding a fifth All-Star, DeMarcus Cousins, for chump change.
And yet, neither the Lakers or the Warriors hold the honour of the league’s most expensive roster. Instead, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first time ever to have more than $300 million in single-season team salary.
Let’s break it down! The Thunder just re-signed Paul George to a max contract that will pay him $34 million next season, and they also owe hefty sums to the following players:
- Russell Westbrook ($35 million)
- Carmelo Anthony ($28 million)
- Steven Adams ($24 million)
- Andre Roberson ($10 million)
- Jerami Grant ($9 million)
- Alex Abrines, Patrick Patterson and Kyle Singler ($16 million combined)
Obviously, that throttles the Thunder well beyond the salary cap, and deep into the luxury tax that charges the team more and more for every dollar they go over the cap threshold. Part of the massive numbers comes down to booming business for the league, because new TV contracts have lifted the worth of player contracts around the league.
Part of it, though, is just that the Thunder are spending a lot of money on a lot of good players. Carmelo, in the final year of his contract signed in 2014, is a real candidate to be bought out for salary relief.
With all of that money the Thunder are spending, it sure would be nice if they had a chance in the playoffs, eh? It’s too bad that the Warriors are... the Warriors.
