OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti is the right fit for this rebuild
By Rylan Stiles
The OKC Thunder are heading for a rebuild, but is Sam Presti the right guy to lead the charge?
For the OKC Thunder, and their fans, it is the end of yet another chapter in OKC Thunder basketball. In just an 11 year span, the OKC Thunder franchise has taken more twist and turns than imaginable.
Sam Presti has been in charge of this organization since he was 30 years old, hired by the then Seattle Supersonics after he worked within the San Antonio Spurs organization, one of the most prestigious in the sport.
The now 42-year-old has helped build the organization across from Seattle to Oklahoma City.
In 2007, the Seattle Supersonics drafted Kevin Durant with the second pick in the NBA Draft. They then completed a blockbuster trade. Presti dealt one of the best shooters this league has ever seen, Ray Allen, for the draft rights of Jeff Green as well as shipping off another All-Star in Rashard Lewis to thrust the Supersonics into a full-on rebuild.
In 2008, Presti spent a pair of first-round picks on Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka respectively to take with him to Oklahoma City as the team relocated and entered into a new era.
In 2009, the NBA’s soon to be best young GM selected James Harden. Just like that, in a three-year span, the Seattle SuperSonics turned OKC Thunder, had their core.
The team spent one season in OKC in which they were awful, it was the first season, 2008. That awful season led to James Harden, and since then the organization has been a perennial contender, only missing the postseason one other time which was due to an injury-filled campaign.
A few drafts and nailing draft picks, then boom. A young upstart team in a new city fielded one of the most competitive teams for an 11-year stretch, including a run to the NBA Finals in 2012.
That’s how it started, but how do we know if he can pull this off again?