The Thunder have finalized decisions on their remaining team options, picking up Luguentz Dort‘s $17.7MM option for 2026/27, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), while declining their $7.2MM option on Kenrich Williams, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
Dort, 27, is coming off a bit of a down year in Oklahoma City. His scoring average of 8.3 points per game was his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2019/20, and his 34.4% mark on three-point tries was well below the 40.3% rate he posted over the previous two seasons. His struggles continued in the postseason, where he played just 19.3 minutes per game in the Western Conference finals loss to San Antonio.
Still, Dort was still a full-time starter for the Thunder this season and is just one year removed from earning All-Defensive first team honors and finishing fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting for a championship team. With that in mind, it never seemed likely that Oklahoma City would simply decline the 27-year-old’s option and let him walk, even though doing so could’ve been a way out of the second tax apron for the cap-strapped team.
Declining Williams’ option will create some additional cap and tax savings for the Thunder, who have also reached trade agreements to send out Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins without taking back any salary. As cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets, OKC now projects to be just $7.6MM above the second tax apron after starting the offseason $39MM above the threshold.
It’s not clear whether or not getting under the second apron is a top priority for the Thunder, who could simply take their current 14 players – including first-round picks Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz – into the regular season without making any additional roster moves. If management is still intent on shedding salary, Dort could be among the team’s trade candidates.
If the Thunder are comfortable operating in the second apron and paying a substantial tax bill, they might consider bringing back Williams to fill their 15th roster spot. The veteran forward, who will turn 32 in December, has played a reduced role for the Thunder in recent years but has been with the team since 2020 and has become a locker-room leader and culture-setter within the organization.
