Given the circumstances, the Oklahoma City Thunder have done a nice job this summer when it comes to their draft pick situation and salary cap sheet. They got under the luxury tax with trades of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Jerami Grant, while also securing a ton of first-round picks in the process.
According to ESPN insider Royce Young, however, the Thunder's recent signing of 22-year-old big man Justin Patton does bring the team back over the luxury tax line, at least for the time being:
Article Continues BelowOn the Thunder signing Justin Patton today, it's a three-year deal worth $5.3m, according to league sources. This year has $700k guaranteed, year two is non-guaranteed and year three has a team option. He brings the roster to 14 and actually puts OKC back over the tax by $921k.
As Young notes in his follow-up tweet, OKC will almost certainly be ducking back under the tax by the time the 2019-20 season ends, which is when tax penalties are determined:
The Thunder won't be a team that remains in the tax this season, and $921k is a workable number to trim down. Patton is a former first round pick (No. 16 in 2017) and just 22 years old.
ESPN's Bobby Marks also chimed in on this matter, saying this was something that was always going to happen because the Thunder needed another player to satisfy NBA requirements. It's safe to assume OKC will make some type of move during the season to avoid getting hit with that tax penalty.