It is said that the total salary of the three core teams of the Thunder team reached 822 million yuan, and the salary structure attracted attention.

The Thunder opened 287 million yuan for five years and 250 million yuan for five years and 250 million yuan for five years. In addition, Alexander's 285 million yuan for four years, the total salary of the three new contracts will reach 822 million yuan. Judging from the current situation, this number is definitely crazy enough, considering that many teams have previously collapsed due to the influence of the second rich line.

Under this hidden danger, many voices are questioning that the Thunder, who just won the 2025 championship, will soon become the next victim.

Before discussing the new season, let's go back to 2012. After the Thunder lost to the Heat in the Finals, Presti faced a choice on Harden's contract issue. Since the team had to pay Dewey's second young master's salary, the Thunder was forced to part ways with Harden, and he later became an MVP in the Rockets, which also became an indelible regret in the hearts of Thunder fans.

History always likes to repeat some old things, but this time, Thunder chose to refuse to go back to the old ways. Again facing the issue of renewal of the three core members, Presti used three major contracts to bind the main core lineup to at least the 2030-31 season. Before defending the title, he stably consolidated the team's main core team.

Although there are still people outside who are worried about how the Thunder should continue to build a competitive lineup around these young stars due to the influence of the league's luxury tax line and the second rich line, Presti should be ready for these issues. Looking back over the years, this behind-the-scenes trader of the Thunder has been working hard to avoid falling into the salary trap of the second rich line.

Long before the Thunder won the championship and Alexander was promoted to MVP, Presti and his team were building a lineup that could last for a long time. The biggest blessing of this is mainly achieved through drafts. The Thunder have accumulated a large number of first-round draft picks by trading Westbrook, George, Adams and others, and have established a team framework for the championship around Alexander as the core.

And more importantly, Presti has his own clear blueprint, and he needs to retain salary flexibility for the Thunder's chances of winning. Now that the first championship has been obtained, this plan can be implemented.

Alexander, Chett and Jewe are very strong, the key to the Thunder's winning the championship is the depth of their lineup rotation. Dort, Harten, Caruso, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, Carson Wallace and others are all important role players in the championship season, and Presti makes good use of the salary dividends brought by rookie contracts, further strengthening this rotation depth advantage.

Harten signed a three-year, 87 million contract with the Thunder before the 2024-25 season, and the last year was a team option of 28.5 million; another key figure is Dort, as the defensive champion in the starting lineup, after the original contract expired, Presti signed a five-year, 82 million contract with him. Considering his offense and defense, this is definitely the best value contract in the league. His contract last year in the 2026-27 season, with a team option of 18.2 million.

is similar to Dort, and Caruso's contract is also quite friendly. He signed 81 million yuan with the Thunder for four years in December 2024. This contract will basically not cause too much burden. The Thunder can rely on this veteran as a key link between the starting lineup and the substitute.

Then it is Aaron Wiggins, who signed a 5-year, 45 million contract as a decreasing contract, and his salary will decrease year by year over time. The contract was 10.9 million in the first year, while in the last year of the 2028-29 season, the contract amount was only 8.3 million, and it comes with team options.

Compared with other teams that spend money every year to compete for the championship and eventually fall into the contract quagmire, the Thunder has extremely high salary elasticity and there are almost no premium contracts in the lineup. Presti can continue to strengthen through the draft, creating a continuous direction that can advance or retreat, and avoid the punishment of the second rich line while stably succeeding.

In this offseason, the Celtics had to choose to dismantle the championship lineup due to injuries to the second rich line and Tatum. This is not surprising. Many teams have only two or three years of championship competition, but the Thunder does not seem to be within this range. In the next 2-3 years, Presti's team will not only continue to maintain the championship-winning power, but also continue the team-building philosophy of the past ten years. Even if the Thunder needs to pay more than 800 million yuan in salary for Alexander, Jewish, Chett and others, they still won’t have salary problems. The Thunder's 15-man roster is full in 2025-26 season, and the team will operate at a salary cap exceeding the salary cap. Even so, they are still about $8.5 million below the No. 1 Rich Line.

Looking ahead to the 2026-27 season, the new contract between Chet and Jewe will take effect soon, with the total salary of the three cores being approximately 120-125 million yuan. Based on the estimated salary cap and the existing contract, the Thunder may exceed the second rich line. But they have the option of a team of Harten, Dort and Kenway totaling more than 50 million. Through this part, the Thunder can easily control their salary below the rich line.

From a long-term perspective, Hartten is the most likely player in the Thunder lineup, but by then Chet has grown fully and Jewe's new contract has also taken effect. The Thunder just chose defensive potential center Thomas Sobott in the draft, and he will have a chance to enter a stable rotation.

Looking further ahead in the 2027-28 season, the Thunder's salary elasticity advantage still exists. This year is the beginning of Alexander's huge contract, with an estimated annual salary of about 60 million. Including Chet and Jewish, the total salary of the three is about 150 million.

It seems that thunder must have surpassed the second rich line, but in fact it is not. At that time, Isaiah Joe had 11.3 million team options and Jerin Williams had 7.7 million team options, and the Thunder could use this to reduce the burden.. The only variable is whether Dort and Wallace renew their contracts in advance, otherwise the two are likely to enter the free market.

These are some small hidden dangers in the future. Although they have the advantage, this does not mean that the Thunder will not lose players at all in the next few years. It is just that with the flexibility of team options and non-guaranteed contracts, Presti can allow most core members to stay in the Thunder smoothly.

Even if you ultimately need to pay taxes or even exceed the second rich line, the Thunder is enough to use the dividend advantage on the road to championship. Although the future is difficult to predict, it is certain that the Thunder can maintain success now and in the next few years while controlling the problem of the second rich line.

Relying on the young power cultivated behind the scenes and the continuous talent vision, the Thunder has a full chance to become a dynasty team in recent years.