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 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.