Steven Adams' OKC Thunder owns the most expensive roster in NBA history

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 27: Steven Adams #12 of the Oklahoma City Thunder stretches prior to Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Utah Jazz on A

While controversy inflates in the NBA world about a growing imbalance between the Western and the Eastern conferences, the Oklahoma City Thunder are sparing no expense to stay competitive.

34-year-old Raymond Felton re-signed with the franchise yesterday for $2.4 million over a year. The deal is a grain of sand in the payroll of the Thunder compared to the likes of Russell Westbrook ($35m earned next season), Paul George ($30.5m), Carmelo Anthony ($27.9m) and Steven Adams ($24m).

But it's enough to make history.

With Paul George and Jerami Grant on board, Oklahoma City now has a payroll of $156M with 11 players under contract. Because of the repeater tax penalty, the Thunder currently have a tax bill of $130M. The tax bill would be the largest in NBA history.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2018

With Felton's new contract the franchise will be the first in NBA history to pass the threshold of US$300 million in salary including half in luxury tax.

The record illustrates the shift in the Thunder's policy concerning the luxury tax. In 2012 the franchise was reluctant to offer a big contract to future MVP James Harden because of tax bills, leaving him joining the Rockets.

However the Thunder could not hold this new record for long. Anthony's contract could be stretched from one to three years, lessening the tax luxury by the tidy sum of $91 million for the next season.

Thunder, with Paul George at 4/$137M and Jerami Grant at 3/$27M, now have 11 players under contract, at $156M+. A 14-player roster would be $161M + repeater taxes of $155M = $316M total. A Carmelo Anthony stretch and replace with min would save $91M in taxes, as things stand.

— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) July 1, 2018