Pacers and Thunder payrolls, a lesson in financial management

Chicago .- Far from spending on salaries the figures of NBA powers like the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder have earned their place in the NBA Finals, occupying respectively the eighteenth and twenty-fifth positions on the list of franchises that pay their players the best.

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The Indiana Pacers invested nearly 169 million dollars in their players' salaries and the Thunder paid 165.6 million to reach the Finals, which begin this Thursday in Oklahoma City, according to a Spotrac report.

Even though they involve millions of dollars, Indiana and Oklahoma City are far from those who spent the most on salaries in the last NBA season, in a table headed by the Phoenix Suns, with an outlay of 214.3 million dollars.

The teams that spent the most in the NBA
The Suns deposited 51.1 million dollars in Kevin Durant's boxes, 50.2 in Bradley Beal's and 49.2 in Devin Booker's, but on the court they didn't go beyond a modest balance of 36 wins and 46 losses that left them out of the 'playoffs'.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the second franchise that spent the most on salaries, with 202.3 million dollars. The French Rudy Gobert, with 43 million, and Anthony Edwards, with 42, are the ones who cost the most to the team of coach Chris Finch, who said goodbye to the season in the Western Conference finals against the Thunder.

The New York Knicks occupy the fourth position in this particular ranking, with 188.8 million dollars that helped them reach the Eastern Conference finals, but not to take the final step. The Pacers themselves left them out of the playoffs.

Great management by Pacers and Thunder
Behind Phoenix and Minnesota were the Boston Celtics (193.3 million), the current champions. Jayson Tatum's serious Achilles tendon injury prevented them from competing until the end to defend their ring, and their playoffs ended in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks.

Thunder against Pacers, an unprecedented final in the NBA
In this context, the Pacers and the Thunder shone through brilliant financial management. OKC built a young and ambitious group that achieved the best record in the regular season, with a 68-14 balance, and that did not tremble in the postseason.
OKC eliminated Memphis Grizzlies (4-0), Denver Nuggets (4-3) and Wolves (4-1) on their way to the Finals.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's regular season MVP, received a salary of 35 million dollars this year, the highest on the team.

This is how they reached the finals
Chet Holmgren earned just over 10 million dollars and Jalen Williams stayed at 4.7 million. Even so, they formed one of the best trios in the NBA along with Gilgeous-Alexander.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (D) shoots a three-pointer against New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (L) in a file photo. EFE/EPA/Brian Spurlock While the Pacers reached the Finals after eliminating the Milwaukee Bucks (4-1), the Cleveland Cavaliers (4-1) and the Knicks (4-2).

Their highest-paid players are Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, with salaries of 42 million dollars each.

But behind them, Myles Turner, one of the great protagonists on the road to the Finals, earned 19 million dollars and Andrew Nembhard, one of the most in-form players in these 'playoffs', only two million dollars