Thunder Begins Cutting Payroll as Offseason Begins
The Oklahoma City Thunder began their offseason roster maneuvering by trading shooting guard Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks for a pair of second-round picks on June 21.
The Thunder drafted Wiggins in the second round with the 55th overall pick in 2021, and he has been a good player for the team over the past five seasons, including winning the NBA Championship with the Thunder in 2025.
However, with the Thunder facing the possibility of being in the second apron next season -- a place no NBA team wants to be -- the team was forced to make payroll-cutting moves this offseason.
Wiggins, who makes $9.22 million next season, has another guaranteed season of $8.35 million after that, plus a team option for a third season. While the Thunder would have liked to keep Wiggins as roster depth, the team had to trade him as it looks to avoid the punitive second apron next season and beyond.
The NBA's Apron Rules Explained
In an effort to avoid superteams dominating the league, such as the dynasty Golden State Warriors, the NBA instituted the apron rule in 2024.
The NBA already has a luxury tax in place for teams several million dollars above the salary cap, but for teams that go even further beyond that, they reach what is called the first apron.
Teams in the first apron are punished by losing their bi-annual exception, can only use a smaller taxpayer mid-level exception (MLE), cannot use trade exceptions from prior years, have salary-matching restrictions in trades, are restricted from signing certain buyout candidates, and face restrictions for sign-and-trade deals.
The first apron is not a great place to be in, but teams can still get around it. For example, the New York Knicks were in the first apron his year, and they won the NBA Championship. So, the first apron is not a death sentence.
The second apron, however, is.
Related: New York Knicks Have Good Chance to Repeat as NBA Champions
For teams in the second apron, they do not get access to the MLE, they cannot trade or receive cash, they cannot aggregate salaries in a trade, cannot make sign-and-trade deals, they cannot use trade exceptions from prior years, there are restrictions on buyout candidates, and they face massive financial penalties for being so deep into the luxury tax. We are talking potentially several hundreds of millions in financial penalties here.
Worst off, teams in the second apron can see their first-round pick seven years out frozen, meaning they can't trade them, and for teams that are in the second apron for three out of five seasons, their first-round pick moves to the end of the first round, regardless of what their record is.
With those sorts of punishments, you can see why teams want to avoid the second apron. Even the Knicks, who just won the NBA Championship, don't want to go into the second apron this offseason.
Neither do the Thunder, which is why more roster moves on top of trading Wiggins are coming.
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Other Potential Roster Moves for the OKC Thunder
In addition to Wiggins being traded, the Thunder are potentially going to make several other roster moves ahead of free agency on June 30 to better position the team to avoid the second apron next season.
Before we look at the players who could be traded, here are the ones who aren't going anywhere: NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, big man Chet Holmgren, supporting star Jalen Williams, defensive stud Cason Wallace, rising star Ajay Mitchell, Swiss Army Knife Alex Caruso, and young guard Jared McCain. There is no world in which any of these seven players is going anywhere.
But for the rest of the roster, buckle up.
Besides Wiggins, the team's most obvious trade candidate is 3-point specialist Isaiah Joe. The veteran sharpshooter has been a good role player for the Thunder for the past four seasons, but with a guaranteed $11.3 million salary for next season plus an identical team option for one more year after that, he figures to be moved out by the Thunder this offseason.
With many NBA teams looking for 3-point shooting, look for Oklahoma City to pick up a second-round pick or two for Joe on the trade market, a similar return to what Wiggins brought back.
The Thunder are also said to be shopping defensive wizard Luguentz Dort, who has a team option for $18.2 million next season. While Dort has been a roster stalwart for the Thunder for the past seven seasons, he likely has solid trade value, so the team could get some draft capital back for him, too. Plus, they already have an in-house candidate in Wallace, another defensive stud, to take over Dort's minutes.
Another potential trade candidate is center Isaiah Harenstein. Again, the Thunder would love to keep him around as a two-headed monster with Holmgren, but with an $28.5 million salary for next season on a team option, the Thunder could pick the option up and trade him for draft picks, filling his role with a cheaper center in free agency.
Other role players such as Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams, Nikola Topic, and Thomas Sorber are all potential trade candidates, as well as the Thunder looks to cut salary.
Remember, they have to keep roster space open and salary cap room for their incoming draft picks, as the team has two first-round picks in the NBA Draft (No. 12 and No. 17) on June 23, though they may package both picks and look to move up in the draft.
It will be fascinating to see what Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti does this offseason. He is widely regarded as the NBA's premier GM, so let's see what he has up his sleeve as he looks to get the Thunder out of the second apron while also maintaining their spot as a legitimate NBA Championship title contender.
Related: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Sends Strong Message on Sam Presti After Thunder Fall Short
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 1:37 PM.