Adrian Wojnarowski explains the details of how the Thunder signed Paul George SportsCenter ESPN<br /><br />Paul George is back. Now what for the Oklahoma City Thunder?<br /><br />George's return, considered a huge long shot when the Thunder acquired him from the Indiana Pacers this time a year ago, creates what can safely be categorized as good problems for Oklahoma City. Maxing out George and re-signing key reserve Jerami Grant will push the Thunder far over the luxury-tax line. Worse yet, Oklahoma City would be paying the tax for the fourth time in five years, meaning it would join the more punitive category of repeat taxpayers.<br /><br />So while bringing back George and Grant ensures the Thunder keep their core intact, it likely means more moves are coming to mitigate what could be a historic luxury-tax bill.<br /><br />Oklahoma City's massive payroll<br />Including George but not yet Grant, the Thunder have nearly $150 million committed to 10 players under contract for 2018-19, already enough to put Oklahoma City far above the $123.7 million tax line.<br /><br />Assuming Grant's three-year, $27 million deal will include standard eight percent raises and filling out the roster with minimum-salary contracts for the Thunder's three 2018 second-round picks (who will help save money if signed to NBA contracts), that would push the team salary to more than $158 million. Oklahoma City would then pay a luxury-tax bill of more than $142 million -- easily surpassing the previous record of $90-plus million for the 2013-14 Brooklyn Nets and bringing total payroll beyond $300 million.<br /><br />EDITOR'S PICKS<br /><br />NBA trade tracker: Grades and details for every deal<br />Which players and picks are on the move? We have a rundown of the latest trades here.<br /><br /><br />NBA free agency: Latest buzz, rumors and reports<br />The market is officially open, and NBA free-agency news is coming in fast. Stay up to date with the latest deals, rumors and rumblings.<br /><br />There are few easy options for the Thunder to cut payroll. The one exception would be waiving Kyle Singler and stretching the remaining $5 million guaranteed on his contract over the next five seasons, reducing his cap hit to a little less than $1 million. Doing so and filling Singler's roster spot with a player signed for the veteran's minimum would shave nearly $15 million off the Oklahoma City tax bill and save the team about $17 million overall.<br /><br />Beyond that, the Thunder would likely have to trade rotation players to save money next season. Alex Abrines ($5.5 million in the final season of his contract) and Patrick Patterson ($5.5 million, with a $5.7 million player option for 2019-20) could be replaced more cheaply in free agency, but both played regular minutes last season and Patterson in particular may be difficult to trade without giving up draft-pick compensation.<br /><br />Then there's Carmelo Anthony, who chose to make $27.9 million in the final season of his contract rather than test free agency. Oklahoma City could save money in 2018-19 by dealing Anthony for a player (or players)
