The second apron has become a boogeyman for front offices because of its extensive team-building penalties. Being above the threshold also inherently means that a monstrous luxury tax bill is on the way. 

Oklahoma City does not need to fear the second apron because its roster is loaded with long-term talent and has a surplus of future first-round picks. However, the Thunder are already shedding salary to lessen their luxury tax bill, so they could attempt to duck the second apron as an added bonus. 

Assuming Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz receive standard deals for their respective draft positions and Isaiah Hartenstein's new deal begins at $25 million, Oklahoma City is currently at 15 players under contract for a combined $236.5 million. The second apron threshold for next season is projected to be about $222 million.

Salary dumping Luguentz Dort's $17.7 million contract would give the Thunder $3,183,756 to fill the final roster spot. They could either ink 41st overall pick Otega Oweh to a standard deal, sign an unrestricted free agent to a veteran minimum contract or use a Traded Player Exception (TEP) to acquire a player via trade without sending anyone back. 

In order to create more breathing room, Presti could also decline Kenrich Williams' $7.1 million team option and bring him back at a lower cap hit. For example, if he agrees to a $4.5 million salary for 2027, then Oklahoma City would have $5,846,756 to fill the final roster spot. 

But can the Thunder duck the second apron without losing Dort? 

Assuming Kenrich Williams is brought back at $4.5 million next season, Oklahoma City would be $11.8 million above the second apron. They could then decline Dort's team option and sign him to a maximum of $5.8 million to duck the second apron. However, Dort rightfully will not agree to this figure. Trading Nikola Topić and replacing him with an undrafted rookie means the Thunder could offer Dort around $10 million, but this figure is still too low. 

Overall, keeping Dort while simultaneously ducking the second apron is not a feasible goal. 

Let’s say the Thunder finish $1 million below the second apron after the dust settles. Along with avoiding the second apron penalties, they would only be $20 million over the projected luxury tax threshold. This leads to a projected luxury tax bill of $43.4 million, which is a tenable figure. For those who doubt that Oklahoma City would tolerate a $43.4 million bill, ownership has paid the following amounts in the past: