Monday Bolts: Dort for Dollars
OKC traded Lu Dort to the Hawks for three second-round picks, the last in a series of offseason moves that ducked the second apron and, more tellingly, saved the team over $300 million in luxury tax payments.
Presti told Justin Martinez (The Oklahoman) that this was a non-basketball, financially motivated trade. He said that ownership has given him "the impression" that they will pay more taxes for future iterations of the Thunder. He also didn't hide behind the second apron, in keeping with his past comments that the luxury tax is the deterrent to keeping OKC together.
Most media and fans still insist that the second apron was the boogeyman, inevitably breaking up the Thunder's deep, championship roster. That most of these voices think it's smart to move on from veterans like Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe rather than restrict future draft picks or current acquisition tools, has clouded their reading of Presti's decision-making. Managing the cap intelligently is prudent, and Presti has a sterling record of doing just that. Moving players to save money might dovetail with smart cap maneuvering, but it doesn't change what the Thunder have disclosed as their motivation one year removed from the franchise's first title.
They've told their GM to duck taxes instead of putting the best team on the floor.
Thunder Bolts
- ICYMI @ Daily Thunder: Our breakdown of the Dort trade... the Thunder lost to the Nuggets, Mavs, and Nets to finish a spotless 0-8 Summer League... Thunder Journal: The Second Apron Storm... Tuesday Bolts: 1s and 2s... Saturday Morning Cartoons: Summer League Memories
- On the sunnier side, the path to tax ducking has kept OKC very competitive:
- Zach Harper (The Athletic) grades OKC at C+ for the Dort deal.
- Dort's teammates say goodbye.
- Mark Nilon (Thunderous Intentions) praises Presti for bringing back a million second rounders this summer, and a huge Traded Player Exception with the Dort deal. Pushback: OKC already had two massive TPEs from the Joe and Wiggins trades. None of these TPEs can be used to go above the second apron, or next offseason.
- Svyatoslav Rovenchuk (Thunderous Intentions) praises Presti for getting assets back while salary dumping.
- The Thunder dropped an aerial video of the Continental Coliseum's ongoing construction. Oklahoma City tax payers are still on the hook to pay more for this arena than the owners are promising to pay in luxury taxes.
- Michael Martin scouts Otega Oweh, defensive monster:
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