OKC Thunder exercises options on Jared McCain and Thomas Sorber but not Nikola Topic

The OKC Thunder made its decisions Sunday on 2027-28 team options for Nikola Topić, Thomas Sorber and Jared McCain.

OKC has opted to exercise its $5.1 million team option on Sorber and its $6.8 million team option on McCain. It will not exercise its $7.5 million team option on Topić.

The decision to decline Topić’s option should be viewed as a financial one, essentially a continuation of the cost-saving moves OKC made this summer. It reduced its payroll and luxury tax costs by over $200 million when it traded away Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, and it’ll now save another $60 million with this decision.

The money saved further signals OKC’s commitment to retaining its core. OKC showed that by signing Cason Wallace to a five-year, $139 million rookie-scale contract extension on Oct. 18. It’s now in a better position to retain key role players such as Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, Ajay Mitchell and McCain.

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These are all players who’ve contributed for OKC on the biggest stages. And retaining their talents takes priority at this point over Topić, who has unfortunately been unable to showcase his skills due to unforeseen setbacks.

After being selected by OKC with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft, Topić missed all of his first season due to a partially torn ACL in his left knee. He was then diagnosed with testicular cancer in October 2025, and he completed chemotherapy in January before playing in 10 games last season. He has yet to play this season following a successful minimally invasive lumbar microdiscectomy procedure that he had in June.

OKC’s decision to decline its team option on Topić, 21, surely isn’t a reflection of its belief level in him as a player. It’s merely a reflection of the tough decisions it must make due to its financial situation and the luxury tax rates. The Thunder could still re-sign Topić as long as the new deal is for less money than his $7.5 million option.

Of course, Sorber has also been unable to showcase his skills at the NBA level. The former No. 15 pick in the 2025 draft hasn’t yet made his debut after missing all of last season due to a torn ACL in his right knee. He then underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on that same knee in July.

But unlike Topić, who was drafted one year earlier, OKC still has a 2028-29 team option on Sorber. This gives the Thunder more time to explore the 20-year-old center as a prospect.

Then there’s McCain, who has already contributed at a high level after being acquired by OKC in a trade deadline deal with Philadelphia last season. The 22-year-old guard averaged 10.4 points and 2.1 rebounds on 46.2% shooting from the field (39.1% from deep) in 30 regular-season games for the Thunder, and he even made two playoff starts.

McCain also helped OKC go 2-0 to start this season with wins over San Antonio and Denver, two of the top teams in the NBA. And while the Thunder has since been hit hard by injuries to Jalen Williams (left ankle surgery), Chet Holmgren (right knee injury recovery) and Cason Wallace (left shoulder surgery), retaining that championship-caliber group remains a top priority.

Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder exercises options on Jared McCain and Thomas Sorber but not Nikola Topic