New NBA salary reality settles in this offseason for teams like the Celtics, Spurs, and Thunder

Victor Wembanyama was eligible for a no-doubt maximum extension of his rookie contract, an estimated $303 million pact over five years.

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Instead, the Spurs’ franchise center accepted 25 percent of San Antonio’s salary cap, agreeing to a five-year, $252 million extension, giving the franchise more flexibility when Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper become extension eligible.

Meanwhile in Oklahoma City, the Thunder traded away one of their championship pieces in sending Luguentz Dort to the Hawks for second-round picks to ensure they avoid the daunting second salary cap apron and can afford to pay the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren over the next several years.

The Thunder also put faith in their recent draft picks. They selected Michigan center Aday Mara this year as a backup to Holmgren, while forward Thomas Sorber missed all of last season with a torn ACL, and 2024 first-round point guard Nikola Topic has played just 10 games because of injuries. General manager Sam Presti also traded up to acquire Iowa sharpshooter Bennett Stirtz for backcourt help.

Oklahoma City’s offseason mirrors what the Celtics did in 2025.

The Thunder traded away Isaiah Joe to the Pistons and Aaron Wiggins and Dort to the Hawks for a combined seven second-round picks and no players in return. Second-round picks are more used as trade sweeteners than becoming actual players, and Oklahoma City is putting faith in its younger players — as well as the ability to package those second-rounders for trades — to compensate for losing three rotation players.

Presti told The Oklahoman that the Dort move was financial because it saved the club millions on luxury taxes, money that could be used for future salaries. But beginning with the Celtics in 2024, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep championship teams together for the long term.

Boston traded away Jaylen Brown because it did not want to pay his two-year, $142 million extension that he qualified for, especially with Jayson Tatum due a similar extension next summer. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens is retooling the roster — such as extending players like Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh with raises on tradeable contacts — and relying on youth to keep the club competitive.

Wembanyama gave the Spurs major relief because he wants to win in San Antonio. Taking less money to help owners avoid the second apron is not something encouraged by the players association, but it may be the best method to ensure that younger teams stay together until there is a change.

The impact of the second apron and the revised draft lottery system are converging, meaning the days of teams tanking to load up on high draft picks are over. The Celtics were able to rebuild 13 years ago with the trade of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets by gaining two lottery picks a few years later, taking Brown and Tatum in subsequent years.

The Thunder collected a bevy of picks in a series of trades, then scored big by taking Holmgren and Williams in the same draft (2022). The pick used for Williams came from the Clippers in the Gilgeous-Alexander trade.

The Spurs endured a six-year rebuilding phase and were able to get the Nos. 1, 2, and 4 picks in the draft lottery to resurrect their franchise.

With the new system shifting the weighted odds from poor teams to middle-of-the-pack ones, a handful of teams will end the season with no idea where they will draft. For example, the teams with the league’s three worst records will have lesser chances to land the No. 1 pick (5.4 percent) than the seven following lottery teams (8.1).

The good news for Thunder fans is the club has put together a supporting cast of quality players such as Ajay Mitchell, Jaylin Williams, Jared McCain, and Kenrich Williams that are reasonably priced. Oklahoma City also had to prepare for an extension for former first-round pick Cason Wallace, who has established himself as a potential defensive star in his first three seasons.

The Celtics, Thunder, and Spurs are providing blueprints for how to navigate this new NBA salary cap life. And the NBA owners are content with this current system where standout players are going to earn record salaries but not likely with the team that drafted them. And not even the Larry Bird rule, which allows teams to exceed the salary cap to re-sign their own players, is encouraging teams to keep their homegrown talent because of the second apron limit and luxury tax penalties.

This is the new NBA salary reality. Teams are going to have to make difficult moves in coming years to ensure they can avoid excessive spending while maintaining competitiveness.

One aspect that stood out during Las Vegas Summer League was the number of players on rosters from the University of Houston. The Celtics had two Houston players on their roster, rookie first-round pick Chris Cenac Jr. and Exhibit 10 guard Milos Uzan.

Kelvin Sampson has forged the Cougars into a national power, with three Sweet 16s, an Elite Eight, and a national championship game appearance in the last five years. Uzan is a four-year college player from Las Vegas who spent his first two years at the University of Oklahoma. He transferred to Houston and started at point guard the past two seasons, averaging 11.1 points and four assists as a senior.

The Exhibit 10 deal is an invitation to training camp, meaning Uzan will have a chance to play against Celtics regulars and perhaps make an impression for a two-way spot or a position with G-League Maine.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Uzan said. “I feel like I’m a pretty good point guard and that’s what [the Celtics] needed, especially on the summer league team as well. I feel like I got a good shot and a good opportunity, and I’m just trying to make the most of it. [I want to show] I can guard, I can run a team, and I can make open shots, and when it’s time to make a big play down the stretch, I can do that as well.”

Houston has produced five first-round picks in the past six drafts, including Cenac and the Hawks’ Kingston Flemings this year.

“Coach Sampson is a legend at Houston for sure,” Uzan said. “He teaches us defensively you can’t be on the floor if you can’t defend, and I think that translates at the next level. I think that’s one of the main things he’s taught me my past two years over there. And something he preaches a lot is controlling your attitude and you’re effort. Those are the only two things you really can control.”

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In the Celtics’ second-to-final summer league game, Uzan matched up with Kings second-round pick Emanuel Sharp, another former college teammate.

“I worked out every single day with him for the past two years,” Uzan said. “It’s super cool to see him out there, Chris out there, Kingston [Flemings]. Just knowing what we went through.”

As for Cenac, he made a positive impression during his summer league run. He’s only 19 and will need to get stronger, but showed the ability to block shots, hit the midrange jumper, and even an occasional 3-pointer.

“He just continues to get better,” Uzan said of Cenac. “I remember seeing him [last] June during summer work and just making little plays and doing too much, ill-advised shots sometimes. I feel like just his growth throughout the year … I saw him make a play the other day where he caught it on a short [pick and roll] and hit the corner guy [with a pass].

I can see him get so much better, and he’s already a great rebounder. And with Chris, he’s such a good listener that I think he’s going to continue to grow and get better.”

The NBA Players Association is getting younger as the leadership has been overhauled, with twentysomethings Trey Murphy (Pelicans) and Santi Aldama (Mavericks) part of the executive board. Murphy said he entered the league being wary of participating in the NBPA, but veteran teammates encouraged him to participate.

“I was blessed to have two teammates that were on the board: CJ McCollum and Garrett Temple,” he said. “Both those guys are my vets, and like they’re true vets to rookies, not like these fifth-year guys that are 25 years old. They were actually in their 30s, so they were definitely real vets to me.”

Murphy said he expressed his concern about the players association with then executive director Andre Iguodala, a former player who convinced him that he could have a voice in league issues.

“[Iguodala said to me], ‘Look, you have a brain. You really can think about what the guys need. You have a voice,’ ” Murphy said. “I feel like it really helped. And so I trusted him, and now I’m sitting here in this seat because of mainly those three people.

“So I would say, if I didn’t have Garrett Temple, CJ McCollum, and Andre, who knows if I’m here right now trying to give my opinion on different things, and try to get involved and help the rest of the players. So, I think communication within the last probably two to three years has gotten a lot better, for sure.”

Murphy explained that some younger players may have a lack of trust for the union because they’re new to the NBA culture. Iguodala convinced Murphy that younger players needed to have a stronger voice. Once upon a time, the NBPA board was filled with thirtysomethings who were in the twilight of their careers.

“I just think for me, I’m kind of a reserved person, as crazy that might sound, because I like to talk, but I don’t really have a lot of trust in a lot of people,” Murphy said. “So like early on, you know, people are like, ‘Oh, like I’m gonna help you. We’re trying to help you. We’re trying to help you.’ I’m like, ‘All right, why do you want to help me so bad?’ And so Andre helped explain why, and I think that helped me grasp how important the PA is right now.”

Aldama, a Spanish national team teammate of the Celtics’ Hugo Gonzalez, said former teammate Jared Jackson Jr. encouraged him to run for board election.

“The power of a union comes from the players, and the only way that power comes to life is players talking amongst players,” Aldama said. “And just having [Jackson] being that platform for our team at that point really made me want to see how it’s run, see how we can help other players. And I think that’s something that got way better.

“Obviously, as I learned the league my first couple years, especially coming from Spain, no clue what’s going on. Now I talked to a teammate. He explains how everything’s run, and then you have conversations in the locker room, and then guys are actually engaged. And we’re talking about player engagement.”

Finally, NBPA executive director David Kelly said the players are quite interested in NBA Europe because it could serve as another revenue stream for league owners that does not include the players. The owners could start making fresh money from a new league, but also claim the desire to limit NBA player salaries or stay committed to the apron system.

And commissioner Adam Silver is just as engaged in NBA Europe as he is in expansion, which was delayed again during the board of governors meeting.

“My issue with NBA Europe is the fact that it’s outside of [basketball related income], and I think it should be inside of BRI,” Kelly said. “And so, the fact players [potentially] playing on those rosters to me would be a ridiculous consideration when it’s outside of BRI.

“On the expansion front, we look at expansion fees also being outside of BRI is something that, you know, historically has been the case. We don’t think it should be the case. We don’t think it’s fair. Now, of course, fairness has nothing to do with the negotiation. The CBA is leverage, but that’s definitely something we would want to address depending on when expansion teams come in.”

With the Celtics guaranteeing Jordan Walsh’s contract during the week, they have one more committed spot and perhaps another roster decision to make when it comes to second-round pick Dillon Mitchell, a longtime friend of Walsh. Mitchell could agree to a four-year contract, similar to the one Walsh signed as a rookie in 2023, that would be for two guaranteed years to secure his future. A two-way contract is also an option, but former two-way player John Tonje made a serious push to earn another opportunity with a solid Las Vegas Summer League. Amari Williams signed a two-way contract, and there are two slots remaining … The Lakers’ addition of former first-round pick Matisse Thybulle means the club is loaded with wings and could lead to another move having to be made with Bronny James, who is on a guaranteed contract for this season. The Lakers have already moved on without LeBron James; they’ve agreed to deals with Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton, and also acquired Jaden Hardy in the trade for Deandre Ayton. While Bronny has shown potential in his first two seasons, he’s played just 556 total minutes and it’s still uncertain whether he can be a consistent, productive NBA player … We finally had some restricted free agent action this week, when the Knicks made a bid for Moussa Cisse and the Mavericks quickly matched, signing the athletic center to a two-year, $4.7 million deal. Cisse first signed with the Mavericks as an undrafted free agent last year, then earned a standard NBA contract during the season that made him a restricted free agent this summer. Dallas likes Cisse, a reason it has been shopping big man Daniel Gafford. Former lottery pick Dereck Lively is expected to return at full strength from a foot injury this season, and the Mavericks also selected Michigan big man Morez Johnson Jr. in the first round to play for his college coach, Dusty May. There remains a handful of restricted free agents on the market, including the Pistons’ Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson of the Nuggets, and the Clippers’ Bennedict Mathurin … Hearing the revised contract for Trail Blazers radio play-by-play voice Travis Demers offered by new owner Tom Dundon included a 60-plus percent pay cut, no benefits, no travel, and no analyst. Demers did not accept the offer. Longtime television play-by-play man Kevin Calabro turned down an offer to return while analyst Michael Holton was released from his contract.

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