The arguments for why OKC Thunder should, shouldn't keep Lu Dort

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After falling five wins shy of their back-to-back ambitions, the Oklahoma City Thunder return to square one with the rest of the league. Enjoying spotless roster continuity over the last few years, they're going through some roster shakeups around the complementary pieces.

Such is life in the NBA. You can't have the same group of guys together forever. Eventually, locker rooms change. New cast of characters shows up. Approaching a fork on the road, the Thunder might need to ship off some familiar faces — both for basketball and financial reasons.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are about to balloon OKC's payroll for the foreseeable future. The two-time MVP winner will soon start his next megadeal. Meanwhile, Williams and Holmgren are about to start their contract extensions they signed last summer, fresh off an NBA championship.

Because of that, the Thunder could ship out some role players. One is Lu Dort. He has a $17.7 million 2026-27 team option that they must decide on Monday. Let's lay out the case for why OKC should and shouldn't run it back with the 27-year-old:

Why the Thunder should move on from Dort​

The writing has been on the wall all year. After a career season that saw Dort earn All-Defense honors for the first time and win a ring, he regressed across the board this past year. The scoring fell. He became even more inefficient. The outside jumper betrayed him at 34.4% from 3 on 5.4 attempts. Even the point-of-attack defense wasn't as sharp as years before. That explains why his playing time slowly dwindled throughout the year — despite being a starter.

Now, the Thunder are well-suited to parachute from Dort. They have Cason Wallace waiting in the wings for more. He wants to add more to his plate on both ends of the floor. He's earned the right to say that as his career trajectory is pointing up. The easiest way to achieve that? By sliding him into the starting lineup permanently. Hence why it makes basketball sense for OKC to move from a longtime starter.

There's also the financial implications of moving on from Dort. Moving on from Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder are trying to get below the second apron. By getting rid of Dort's $17.7 million salary, they'd achieve that goal. By getting rid of three role players who were non-factors in OKC's past playoff run, it actually extends its window to be competitive by kicking the can down the road on when it has to fork over financial tax penalties.

In total, it makes all of the sense in the world to move on from Dort — both in the financial and basketball sense. The Thunder simply can't afford to run it back with the same group. Plus, Wallace made it pretty obvious that he's ready to do more than just be a pigeonholed role player. As tough as it could be, it feels like it's been fairly easy to predict that this past year was his last in OKC.

Why the Thunder should keep Dort​

I mean, you can't move on from Dort, right? He's been a longtime staple of this era. The Thunder saw him grow from an undrafted puppy to one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He's tied with Gilgeous-Alexander as the longest-tenured player at seven seasons. And considering how close their friendship is, do you really want to risk messing up the intangible that is locker room chemistry? Doubt it.

Also, as bad as Dort was this past season, he's still tailor-made to slow down some of the best perimeter scorers across the league. He's had his fair share of battle wins over guys like Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. Suddenly losing that special one-on-one defender worsens OKC's league-best defense — at least in specific matchups against jumbo-sized perimeter scorers like the ones I listed above.

Let's also entertain the hypothetical of trading Dort. His trade market is at an all-time low. The Thunder generally try to sell guys at the peak of their value. Right now, he's nowhere near that. It'd be bad business to trade away the 27-year-old for 60 cents on the dollar. Especially if it's to a fellow Western Conference team. Suddenly, you made your team worse and your direct competition better in that scenario. OKC is really at a disadvantage if it decides to move on from him in a trade.

The Thunder have leaned on being a defense-first team for their success over the last couple of years. It's led to one NBA championship already. As inconsistent as Dort was this past year, he's still viewed as one of their top defenders. And sentimentally speaking, he's one of your best developmental stories ever. There are intangibles involved here that may be difficult to quantify from an outsider's perspective. But those factor into a decision like this.

Final verdict​

Sometimes, it's just best for both sides to start fresh. Even with banked-in memories from the last eight years. As emotional as it might get, it makes sense for the Thunder and Dort to get fresh starts. The former has ready-made replacements on the roster itching for more. And the latter can't reasonably be expected to take both a pay cut and role demotion at the prime of his career. It'd be best for both sides to figure out how to land him in a new NBA home.

Dort has been one of OKC's best success stories ever. He's seen the Thunder go from a rebuild to an NBA champion. As a seven-year starter, he had a front-row view. Even if he departs, he'll always be a fan favorite. And you could make a sound argument that his No. 5 jersey should be retired. Just from his contributions to their championship squad.

All that said, there's a reason why the Thunder didn't extend Dort last summer. Once they made that non-decision, it was pretty obvious where this thing was headed. Wish he could've played better this past season to make things a little more interesting, but his subpar play on both ends of the floor has turned this into a fairly easy decision to make. It's time for OKC to move on — as much of a gut punch as it'd be to do so. Pick up his team option and go from there.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: The arguments for why OKC Thunder should, shouldn't keep Lu Dort

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