The Oklahoma City Thunder are about to be dealing with a super-expensive roster. Max extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams activate next season, seeing each young star making $41.5 million. The Thunder will also be paying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander north of $40 million in 2026-27 and are reportedly interested in re-signing Isaiah Hartenstein, who won't be cheap. Hartenstein has a $28.5 million club option, and the assumption is that OKC will try to sign him to a lower-AAV deal in tandem with declining that option.
Alex Caruso is also on the books for $19.5 million next year, and you know the Thunder aren't moving on from him. That's already a lot of money tied up! The feeling around the league is that OKC will seek to trade one or both of Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to create some cap breathing room.
Thunder expected to move on from Isaiah Joe and/or Aaron Wiggins
Joe is 26 years old and averaged a career-best 11.1 points per game on a career-best 42.3 percent from 3 in 2025-26. He's set to make $11.3 million next season and has a club option of identical value for 2027-28.
Wiggins is 27 and saw a slight drop in his production this year, going from 12.0 PPG in 2024-25 to 9.4 PPG this season. His 3-point percentage also dropped to 35.6 from 38.3 in 2024-25. Wiggins is making $9.2 million next year, $8.3 million in 2027-28, and has a club option for another $8.3 million in 2028-29.
ESPN's Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon reiterated departure buzz about Joe and Wiggins in a new piece this week.
"Executives with other teams are ... monitoring whether the Thunder could seek to trade other players to shed salary and limit the luxury tax bill -- or simply make room on their roster," Slater and MacMahon wrote. "The most likely candidates to be moved in a trade to rebalance the roster are Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, who have proved to be quality role players but fell out of the rotation during these playoffs."
The Lakers should closely monitor the market for Isaiah Joe and/or Aaron Wiggins
The best thing about acquiring Joe or Wiggins -- besides their relatively cheap AAVs -- is that they'd be coming from an excellent, championship-winning culture in OKC. They are both used to playing at the highest level night in and night out, a level that the Lakers are looking to reach in the Luka Doncic era.
But both Joe and Wiggins are more than just products of a strong culture. They'd add to winning virtually anywhere due to their length, athleticism, and shooting ability. Joe is the better asset due to his superior shooting and the fact that he's a year younger and on a shorter contract (more roster flexibility). Then again, if you loved Wiggins as a player, you'd be happy that his deal runs through 2028-29.
The Lakers, needing long wings who can shoot and defend, have absolutely no reason not to be near the front of the line for both players.
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