Oklahoma City Thunder: Paying Luxury Tax Worth It to Keep James Harden in OKC

Have you heard about the latest fad in the NBA, with teams working hard to make sure they have a “Big Three” on their roster in order to be in title contention?

They’re all the rage right now.

Well, except for one team, whose success in recent drafts has put them in a position to take it a step further.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has a roster that features a perennial MVP candidate, a Sixth Man of the Year award recipient and the league leader in blocked shots.

The blocked shots leader, Serge Ibaka, won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics for Spain.  However, that is the not the only thing that Ibaka has gotten this offseason.

As an article on ESPN.com reports, Ibaka recently agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract extension with the Thunder.

The article points out that the Thunder are set to pay Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Perkins over $50 million per season, and now have Ibaka in the fold long-term.

So where does that leave reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden?

With the league’s salary cap set at $58 million, the Thunder will have to get creative in order to sign Harden long-term and avoid paying the luxury tax.

However, the Thunder has a chance to one-up the rest of the league if they are able to sign Harden.

Durant and Westbrook are both 23 years old, while Harden and Ibaka are both 22.  In a league in which teams are trying their best to acquire not just one superstar player, but two or three, the Thunder have four players who are still a few years away from hitting their prime.  The team already played in the NBA Finals last season, and will come back this year with even more experience with their key players having been in postseason and gold medal runs.

While the rest of the league strives to acquire a “Big Three”, the Thunder has an opportunity to have as close to a Big Four as a team may get.

As long as they are willing to pay the luxury tax in order to keep Harden in the team’s uniform.

An article by Berry Tramel on NewsOk.com gives an excellent, in-depth breakdown of the Thunders’ financial position.  Playing in Oklahoma City, it’s no guarantee that Clay Bennett and Sam Presti will be willing to pay a luxury tax the same way a team from Los Angeles, or another larger market area, would be willing to do so.

In his article, Tramel says that an $81 million payroll for the Thunder in 2013-2014 would result in a luxury tax bill of $15.75 million.  That’s over $96 million for a small market team that may be hesitant to even exceed $58 million.

But that price would be for four Olympic medalists under the age of 24 whom the league may have to compete against well past the 2013-2014 season.

The Thunder has three players who averaged over 16 points per game, including Harden, who provided his scoring touch off the bench.

In 62 games last season, Harden averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists.  These numbers all exceed his career averages of 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

Tramel’s article mentions that the team could use its amnesty clause on Perkins to free up payroll, or see if Harden is willing to sign for less than a max offer.  Filling out the rest of the team’s roster will be difficult, regardless.

Few could have expected when the Thunder drafted Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka that the team would mesh and rise to dominance so quickly.  Unfortunately, great moves by the front office are now resulting in the team having to pay a larger sum then what is likely desired.

The Thunder has put themselves into this situation; now they must get themselves out.

And “out” means to be willing to pay a large luxury tax in order to set the team up for a potential rare streak of NBA Finals appearances.

Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka can likely keep the Thunder in contention in the Western Conference, but Harden’s presence can help the team one-up the league’s new “Big Three” fad.

Exceeding the salary cap will be expensive, but Harden is a player that would make it worth it for the Thunder.