UPDATE: I think i'm wrong. I don't think OKC gave Perkins a bonus-laden contract like the one they gave Collison.

In conclusion, there is a 50/50 chance that i suck. I guess the below is still a fun read though. 

The Thunder are the only team i can think of that has taken advantage of their capspace by adding bonuses to contracts.  And it's not just once or twice. They did it with Nick Collison and now again with Kendrick Perkins. (well, maybe it was just twice but still..)

Its ingenius really! They avoid a higher per year salary on the books by giving out awesome bonuses because they are under the cap. Great idea, Presti. or maybe it was Rich Cho, since he was their capologist before he moved on to the big show. and also because he's asian. (woah woah. relax, im allowed to say that. my parents were born in an asian subcontinent)

Here are the deets courtsey of this yahoo article.

And by shedding a few million off the team's cap in a pair of deals last week, the Thunder were then able to take their leftover cap space and apply a bonus of sorts to Kendrick Perkins. And with Perkins' new contract now reflecting his bonus, the terms of his contract extension could then be strung out to overall numbers more in line with what Perkins should be making for the next four years. Boston had no such luxury, due to the constraints of the CBA and what teams can offer via contract extension.

The result is a four-year, $34.8 million deal that is more reminiscent of what players like Marcin Gortat(notes) are making, while a step below what Joakim Noah(notes) and Al Horford(notes) are pulling in. It gives the Thunder a big man they can rely on to defend, defend, defend (while, despite his limitations, not hurt the team offensively) for the next few years. And the good-enough terms allow the team to safely extend all-world guard Russell Westbrook(notes) this offseason to what will probably be a max contract. Though expectedly a shorter and less-expensive max than we've seen in the NBA since 1999.