Report: Thunder ownership prepared to pay huge luxury tax bill to retain core

The Oklahoma City Thunder have Russell Westbrook locked down long-term, and they’re ready to pay even more money to keep the core together.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Oklahoma City ownership is prepared to pay a luxury tax bill higher than $140 million to go all-in with what they have.

Have been told numerous times that OKC ownership is all in with a large tax bill next season. Luxury tax could be north of $140M.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) September 29, 2017

We already had a pretty clear idea that the Thunder were all-in given their big acquisitions this summer, and they’d probably like to keep Paul George long-term if they can. The luxury tax bill, for now, seems to be a secondary concern.