The Oklahoma City Thunder’s offseason was widely hailed as an overwhelmingly positive experience, with media, fans, and NBA legends even naming the Thunder the winner of the offseason.

After posting 57 wins a year ago, good enough for first place in the conference and the team’s first playoff victory since 2016, Oklahoma City entered the summer with the goal of improving — accomplishing that feat quickly.

The Thunder kicked off the offseason by sending former No. 6 overall pick Josh Giddey to the Windy City for a fresh start and receiving Alex Caruso in return, the two-time defensive end and NBA champion a perfect fit for Mark Daigneault’s identity and it was a move that was widely viewed as a win-win for both players.

Sam Presti and his teammates didn’t stop there. With a top-five ranking in terms of salary cap space, Oklahoma City entered the free-agent market for the first time as a franchise, landing a major contract in New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein.

OKC signed him to a three-year, $87 million contract with a team option in the final year. A steep price, but one the Thunder could uniquely afford with a young, talented core under team-friendly deals.

Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus attempted to answer the question of contracts that all 30 teams will eventually regret. For Oklahoma City, the scribe cited Hartenstein as the answer.

“The Thunder have run their team as well as any franchise. Hartenstein got paid more than a lot of people in the industry expected, but it’s a short-term deal.” Pincus said: “Maybe Isaiah Joe or Aaron Wiggins are stagnant, but their long-term deals could be good deals.”

Pincus clarified his “potential regret level” by setting his counter at 2/10. A classic case of selecting a candidate whose record is otherwise impeccable and whose spending is efficient.

In reality, the regret meter should be at 0. With this deal being a two-year deal that doesn’t hurt the Thunder’s ability to retain key players, and while it may be an overpayment for a backup center, who else did Oklahoma City save money for? In a use-it-or-lose-it scenario, the Thunder’s record with Patrick Patterson being their previous free agency scorer shows that this was the best offseason they could have hoped for and the most efficient use of their salary cap.

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