So, what do we know about Sam Presti and the OKC Thunder so far?
In order to get to the point of this series, we must narrow the questions down to one burning question. For Sam Presti, everyone reading this article could pick their own question and be totally valid with something Presti must do this year.
If we would’ve started this series the day after Paul George was dealt (which would’ve been very premature considering the roster was not even close to finalized), I would have said the most burning question is for Sam Presti to pick a lane.
However, it appears as if he has chosen a path. No matter if Chris Paul and company get off to a hot start this NBA season, the Thunder will not be buyers whatsoever. Based on initial moves all indications are Presti is in acquiring assets mode, not improve the teams immediate future mode. Even if the Thunder come out of the gates strong, the logical extension is you can expect Danilo Gallinari to be dealt and possibly even Chris Paul at the trade deadline.
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Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder, and Nerlens Noel do not seem to be safe from the chopping block either. The resulting takeaway is Presti has picked his lane.
Another question surrounding the OKC Thunder General Manager is can he do it again?
While this is technically the first rebuild in the history of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sam Presti was the guy in Seattle who got the Sonics turned around, drafting the likes of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant before adding to those building blocks with the drafting of James Harden and Serge Ibaka in Oklahoma City.
The flaw with using that question is that we will not know the answer in this season. It takes time to rebuild, retool, reload or whatever re-word you want to use.
So what can Sam Presti do this season?