285 million + 250 million + 270 million! You are too happy! Are you facing the embarrassment of reconstruction just after winning the championship?

When Alexander held the FMVP trophy high on the finals podium, Oklahoma City seemed to usher in the dawn of a new dynasty. However, in just a few weeks, this joy has been completely frozen by the cold salary statement - the four-year, $285 million in renewal of Alexander's super maximum salary, allowing the Grand Slam winner who won the regular season MVP, the Best Team, and FMVP last season to win an epic contract renewal. His annual salary will soar to $78.77 million in the 2030-31 season, setting a new record in the NBA. More cruel reality follows: Jaylen Williams, who is only 24 years old, basically locks in a contract renewal of 248 million yuan in five years next year with the honors of the championship core identity + All-Star player + Best Third Team + Defensive Second Team. The sweet bonus of the Thunder's total salary of the total salary of only 168 million yuan collapsed under the shadow of the two top salaries.

In fact, after the free market opened, the Thunder management's seemingly "low-key" operations hidden crisis, signing Mitchell in 3 years and staying with Jerryn Williams in 3 years and 24 million in 3 years. Although he had good trading chips, the rumored transaction did not happen. The renewal of Alexander cost 285 million yuan, which was almost a sure thing. However, even so, the Thunder still pushed the team's total salary to US$190 million, officially crossing the 188 million luxury tax starting line. But this is just the beginning of the salary disaster:

First, Jewe's "child labor contract" has entered the countdown: the last year of his rookie contract next season is worth $6.6 million, and Jewe's steadily booked a maximum salary contract with his superstar performance of 21.4 points per game + 23.6 points in the finals. Referring to the five-year contract renewal standard of Cningham, Barnes and others last year, Jewe's five-year maximum salary of 246 million yuan is a foregone conclusion. If he is selected for the Best Team next season or wins DPOY, this contract will expand to 296 million yuan in five years. By then, the Thunder's lineup will have two maximum salary contracts, Alexander will be able to get $372 million in the next six years, and Jewe will win at least $246 million in the contract. Even if the salary cap will rise in the future, the Thunder's dual-core salary will undoubtedly bring a fatal blow to the team's reinforcement space. But this is not over yet! As the second place in 22 years, Holmgren, averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds per game in the regular season last season, seemed dull, but his role is indispensable in the playoffs, and his spatiality and franchise protection ability have brought great help to the Thunder. As the pillar of the defensive system, its market price will exceed Jabarri Smith Jr. (113 million in 4 years) and Naz Reed (125 million in 5 years), with an average salary starting at least $35 million. If further evolution in the new season, he is also expected to hit a maximum salary contract of $270 million in 5 years. What's even more fatal is that the renewal time between him and Jewe completely overlaps - in the summer of 2026, the two will demand huge new contracts at the same time.

When Alexander (average salary of over 60 million), Jewish (average salary of nearly 60 million), Homgren (average salary of 35 million to base), and several middle-class contracts in the team, the total salary of the Thunder will exceed $220 million in the 2026-27 season. Even if the boss Clayton Bennett is willing to temporarily bear the luxury tax, the punishment clauses such as "freeze first-round pick + ban cash transactions" triggered by the second rich line will directly kill the team's future operation space. By then, they have to face the tragedy of the Celtics. Once they fail to win the championship, they have to break up the championship lineup.

However, the dilemma of Russia is more embarrassing than that of Boston. As a small-sized market, the Thunder's fiscal carrying capacity is far inferior to that of giants such as the Celtics, Lakers, Warriors, and Clippers. Oklahoma City is the "20th smallest" media market in the United States, and its local broadcast revenue is less than 1/5 of that of Los Angeles. When wages explode, the only way out in the small ball market is to dismantle the core. History has long written a script: In 2012, in order to save $4 million in the price difference, the Thunder traded Harden to the Rockets, and the Three Young Masters Dynasty collapsed. Now similar choices reappear - Homgren and Javi are destined to be unable to stay at the same time. If Homgren is given up, the inside defensive system will collapse; if Jewish is traded, the outside offensive ability will be sharply reduced. What's even more cruel is that even if one of them is sacrificed, the remaining lineup depth still needs to be cut: high-quality supporting roles such as Isiah Joe, Jerin Williams, and even Caruso may become "financial cannon fodder."

The Thunder will become the only remaining window for the championship next season, but this is more like a "death tour", the last carnival of rookie bonuses, and the "child labor contract" of Jewish 6.6 million and Homegren barely maintains the team's depth. But we know that the Thunder can win the championship this year is bound to be the strong support of the league, and it is also very difficult for the Thunder to defeat the Nuggets in the semi-finals. In this summer, the Nuggets in the Western Conference sent Porter Jr. to exchange for Cameron Johnson, creating a 16.8 million trade exception and welcomed Bruce Brown back. Their strength cannot be underestimated. The Rockets also formed the "three towers" lineup of Durant + Shen Jing + Capela, and the weakness of weak scoring was alleviated. In addition, their salary structure is more optimistic than the Thunder. The team's existing chips can still trade an All-Star point guard. On the other hand, the Thunder only renewed their role players, and their strength has declined relatively.

ESPN expert Kevin Pelton had previously warned: "Renewing the contract with three cores requires a discount price, otherwise the integrity of the substitute lineup will collapse." But Alexander and Jewish had no reason to cut their salary - the former ranked first in the league, and the latter needed to fight for the first big contract in his career. When personal interests conflict violently with team interests, cracks in the locker room have already quietly grown. Thunder’s ultimate dilemma has been exposed. Maybe I have to face the dilemma of rebuilding just after winning the championship. For the Thunder, there are only two choices, either like the Nuggets let Bruce Brown and Jeff Green away in 2023, sacrificing the depth of the lineup in exchange for a short-term tax avoidance; or like the Cavaliers last season, they bet on a luxury tax of 145 million yuan, and completely knocked down and started over after failure..

For the Thunder, both roads are equally desperate: if you give up Homgren or Jewish, the window for championship will be closed immediately; if you force your dual core, you will face a total expenditure of more than $300 million in the summer of 2026, which is tantamount to suicide for the small ball market. What is even more ironic is that even if the boss grits his teeth and burns money, the "death penalty clause" of the second rich line in the new NBA labor-capital agreement (bans signing buyout players + restricts draft pick transactions) will also deprive the way to strengthen. Chesapeake Energy Arena was still cheering in his ears when Alexander held the championship trophy. But the spotlight of the capital world has turned to the cold ledger - when Jewe's maximum salary of 250 million yuan overlaps with Alexander's 285 million yuan contract, the Russian City's championship flag has faded before it has risen. The sadness of the small ball market is revealed at this moment: winning the championship is not the starting point of the dynasty, but the countdown to the collapse. Every victory next season will become a tragic footnote to the dissolution of this youth army.