Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti has been regarded as one of the best in the business for years now, and for good reason. Presti has put together an incredible roster in Oklahoma City, but that isn’t actually why he is being showered with praise this offseason.
The Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs are two of the Thunder’s biggest rivals in the Western Conference, and some of Presti’s moves this offseason wouldn’t have gone down well with them. The most recent one, of course, involved Nuggets forward Spencer Jones.
Jones was a restricted free agent this summer, and the Thunder interestingly decided to offer him a two-year, $12 million deal. He accepted it, which put the Nuggets on the clock. They had until 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday to match it, or else they’d lose Jones for nothing.
Now, you’d think that’s obviously not a terrible contract. The issue for the Nuggets, though, was that matching it would make them a second-apron team. Teams have been avoiding it like the plague, and so, all eyes were on them.
The Nuggets would decide to match the Thunder’s offer for Jones to become the NBA’s only second-apron team. It’s not someplace you want to be for all the penalties that come with it, and one of them impacts Denver right away.
Jones wasn’t the Nuggets’ only restricted free agent entering this offseason. Peyton Watson was another, and his situation still hasn’t been resolved.
Watson is reportedly seeking a deal worth $28 million per year, and the Nuggets would be staring at massive tax penalties if they give it to him. This Jones deal itself sees their luxury tax bill go from $36 million to $68 million.
Now, the Nuggets have been open to sign-and-trade deals for Watson, but being a second-apron team complicates matters. NBA salary cap analyst Yossi Gozlan explained why on X.
“The biggest implication is that the Nuggets can’t take back players under contract for Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade since they’re above the second apron,” Gozlan wrote. “They’d need to get under it in a separate deal or in conjunction with the sign-and-trade.”
Talk about a mess. If we do see a Watson sign-and-trade, it will likely just be some draft picks heading to the Nuggets (unless they shed salary before that). Another option if there is no trade or long-term contract would be the 23-year-old accepting the $6.5 million qualifying offer. That would take the luxury tax penalties to $112 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Talk about a hefty bill.
Now, the Thunder were actually facing massive penalties of their own entering this offseason. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren’s rookie max extensions were kicking in, and the front office told Presti, the 2025 NBA Executive of the Year, they had to cut costs.
So, out went Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks first and then Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons. The Thunder only took back two draft picks in both deals, and that helped them reduce their luxury tax bill by a whopping $140 million. They were still projected to be a second-apron team, though, but that would change.
The Thunder picked up Lu Dort’s $17.7 million team option and then traded him to the Hawks for three second-round picks. That trade put them $6.9 million under the second apron and dropped the luxury tax penalty to just $19.6 million.
Getting under is what enabled the Thunder to put that offer on the table for Jones. They had access to their $6.1 million taxpayer mid-level exception, and now regain it as they look to fill their 15th roster spot.
Now, it should be pointed out that missing out on Jones and losing players for just second-round picks isn’t ideal. The Thunder have definitely taken a step back, but in doing so, they have also managed to hurt the Spurs, who beat them in seven games in the 2026 Western Conference Finals. How, you ask?
Well, the Spurs have the Hawks’ 2027 first-round pick thanks to the Dejounte Murray trade in 2022, and the Thunder just gave them Dort and Wiggins for next to nothing. They finished sixth in the Eastern Conference last season with a 46-36 record and should be even better now. That pick isn’t going to be anywhere near as valuable as the Spurs would have hoped.
Now, how intentional was all this? Only Presti can truly answer that question, but he has certainly delivered blows to the Spurs and Nuggets.
