I understand OKC's cap situation. But Shai/JDub/Chet are orders of magnitude younger and better than the other teams big 3 you described, and OKC will be fine to just let Hartenstein and Caruso go when the time comes and stick with whatever young guys they develop in the interim.
By signing Chet now, they avoid triggering the higher max next year that could occur if Chet makes an All-NBA team. That outcome is entirely possible if he plays >65 games.
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Originally Posted by Chryghst
Context matters. Committing 90% of the salary cap to 3 players (35% Shai/30% Jdub/25% Chet) is not the same as committing 25% to your best player. Nuggets traded MPJ because their 3 max structure failed; Suns traded KD because their 3 max structure failed; Sixers have 3 max contracts (Embiid/PG/Maxey) and so now too does Orlando (Paolo/Franz/Bane)—but these are all 25% max for 75% total and Paolo hasn’t kicked in yet. Neither team are contenders.
OKC’s strength this season was depth. Unless Chet improves significantly in the next couple years, this decision makes the team a lot worse. They lose nothing by waiting until next summer to give out the same contract. If Chet gets hurt next year, it becomes a much more difficult contract to move like MPJ’s did.
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