After a surprising offseason full of changes, the first era of OKC Thunder basketball has officially ended and the rebuild has begun. With that in mind, it seems like a great time to take a look at the best acquisitions of the first 11 years of the franchise.
OKC fans have been pretty fortunate over the first 11 years of Thunder basketball as they have been one of the most successful franchises in the NBA over this time span. According to NBC/Rotoworld and Forbes analyst Tommy Beer, the OKC Thunder have the second-best record over the past decade (515-289) trailing only the San Antonio Spurs.
This success has a lot to do with guys like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Paul George, but might have even more to do with the man behind it all: Sam Presti.
Presti has been one of the better drafters in the NBA since taking over as the General Manager of the franchise. He is responsible for drafting guys like Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Reggie Jackson, and Eric Bledsoe (Bledsoe was traded on draft night to the Clippers). That’s a pretty impressive list featuring three MVPs and a lot of NBA stars.
Now, while Presti’s great draft prowess is displayed here, this may not even be his strongest suit as a General Manager. Where Presti has really earned his stripes, especially in the more recent years is on the trade market.
So in the following slides, we will take a look at the 11 best trade acquisitions over the past 11 years for the OKC Thunder.