No NBA team is set up for long-term success better than the OKC Thunder, who just won the title with the youngest team in the league, have elite young talent locked into long-term deals and a ton of future draft picks. The Detroit Pistons have some of these elements but need to find a way to stockpile some extra picks.
The Thunder spent nearly a billion dollars this summer on the trio of players they see as their core, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. The rest of their payroll is rounded out with quality role players and guys on rookie deals, something that will keep coming, as OKC has 13 future first-round draft picks and 16 second rounders.