Grading OKC Thunder’s ‘Bust Revival’ Project
By Gideon Lim
Concluding Remarks
Sam Presti’s trade moves for these former lottery picks must be seen in its full context. The crux of evaluating Presti is not simply to look at the success of the player. These trade moves must be seen as Presti’s way to find talent where a contender would otherwise not have been able to find.
One obvious drawback to this “bust revival” project is its opportunity cost. Other contenders have always looked to attract veterans to boost the squad. Vets are probably more ready to contribute to a title conquest than these young players and Presti’s unwillingness to devote the team’s trade needs to veterans was reportedly what pushed Kevin Durant out of the door.
Still, we will never know how true this is, but a generous evaluation towards Presti would say that trading for these former lottery picks was not just Presti’s way of circumventing the Thunder’s limitations on draft day, but also in the free agency market due to its small market syndrome. Doing so then justifies the trade moves slightly more.
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More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Final Scores
Overall this revolutionary strategy has produced fairly solid results. None of the players have really swept the Thunder off their feet, but it was never likely that they would. Instead, they represent Presti’s secret access card into another resource pool the league has yet to discover.
As of now, Kanter is the most impressive player, although Oladipo has the higher upside. Even if these players do not work out, the Thunder’s first-hand access into such talent gives them immense trade flexibility. Sure, Waiters serves as a stern warning against the double-edged nature of restricted agency. But, it is hard to argue against where this strategy has brought the Thunder.
Verdict: The players are hardly out of “bust” territory, but as a front office asset acquisition, this “bust revival” project deserves full plaudits.