OKC Thunder GM Presti can improve upon 76ers ‘Process’

With a closest of draft picks and veteran talent to shop OKC Thunder head man, Sam Presti could reinvent ‘the process’ with a whole new spin.

With the OKC Thunder offseason underway, the brain trust has a myriad of decisions in front of them this offseason. Given Billy Donovan’s exit for Chicago, a new bench boss is a priority but many roster decisions also need to be made.

Although expectations are Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari are out that’s not necessarily definitive. Rather, Sam Presti has provided primarily cryptic answers without exact details. That seemed to drive Donovan’s exit choice more. For example, the fact Donovan elected to sign with the Bulls doesn’t indicate the Thunder are entering full-on tank mode.

Rather, the only thing it confirms is that the former coach wanted a longer term than two seasons. Explaining his choice Donovan has cited the future’ and term. The desire for a specific future direction is fair from Billy D, yet so too is Presti’s noncommittal stance.

Just like CP3 and Gallo never expected to love this team or to be as competitive as they were it’s also unlikely Presti expected this iteration of the Thunder to come within one shot of moving into the second round. Nor does he have a crystal ball when it comes to the future.

As marketable and valuable as Paul became via his leadership and production Presti is in no rush to jettison him out the door simply to move him. There is ample time to await the right deal and fit for all parties. That said if the right offer befalls Presti he’d be apt to take it.

Considering that simple facts alone make it easy to understand why Presti couldn’t offer Donovan any different answer than uncertainty regarding the future and/or the timing. Presti’s options or so multi-dimensional the Thunder could just as easily be in a status quo situation in 2020-21 as they could a complete rebuild.

Factor in the uncertainty regarding the salary cap and a less than stellar cast of free agents including a few of their own.  Gallinari could be one of the few to garner a lucrative contract. Still, it’s a good bet Presti could sign Gallo and do a sign and trade with a club to get value back for the multi-talented forward.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have the type of performance in the bubble he or the club likely hoped for. Yet, it doesn’t water-down his talent or value. SGA has proven he resides in the group of players who’ll put in the work and he has plenty of ammo from the bubble to set up his offseason workouts and isolate specific areas to grow his game. At 22-years of age, he still has years of continued progression to make before he reaches his ceiling.

Certainly, the decision the franchise makes in regard to Chris Paul will impact his growth. Sam Presti won’t be forced to trade Paul but on the other hand, after the season CP3 had his return value may be at it’s the highest level now.

Could Sam Presti create a new ‘Process’ era for the OKC Thunder?

Regardless of the direction Presti elects to follow the future is bright in OKC and much of that is tied to SGA and seven draft picks/swaps obtained in the Paul George trade. Factoring in the additional four draft pick/swaps obtained for Russell Westbrook and their own picks offers so much flexibility for the Thunder.

One option is to try to capitalize on the draft to it’s fullest potential. In order to accomplish that the Thunder would need to hope for the Clippers, Rockets, and Heat to fail or for their own draft picks to serve as the best option in the lottery.

The team most will reference when it comes to tanking is the Philadelphia 76ers. From 2013 to last season the 76ers first-round draft picks included:

• 2013: Nerlens Noel -6th  (Thunder), Michael Carter-Williams -11th  (Magic)
• 2014: Joel Embiid – 3rd, Dario Saric -12th (Suns)
• 2015: Jahlil Okafor – 3rd  (Pelicans)
• 2016: Ben Simmons -1st, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot -24th (Nets), Furkan Korkmaz (26th)
• 2017: Markelle Fultz – 1st (Magic)
• 2018: Zhaire Smith – 16th, Landry Shamet – 26th (Clippers)
• 2019: Matisse Thybulle – 20th

Of the 12 players selected in the first round, seven were lottery selections. Of those 12 players, only five players remain with the team (Embiid, Simmons, Korkmaz, Smith, and Thybulle).

Certainly, there were missteps made by the 76ers such as selecting Fultz instead of Jayson Tatum or not pooling their resources to go after a player of Luka Doncic’s ilk.

The 76ers felt like the right team to use as a comparison for the OKC Thunder upcoming future draft because of the sheer number of draft picks the franchise has. This upcoming draft the Thunder has only one first-round selection since they have to convey their own draft pick to Philadelphia but have the Nuggets pick which came courtesy of the Jerami Grant trade.

Moving forward, in the next seven years the Thunder has the following 14 first-round picks:

• 2020: Nuggets pick
• 2021:  two of the most favorable picks between Thunder, Rockets (protected 1-4), and Heat
• 2022:  Clippers, OKC Thunder own pick
• 2023: Heat pick (protected 1-14), can swap with Clippers for highest pick
• 2024: Rockets (protected 1-4), Clippers pick, own pick
• 2025: can swap with Rockets (protected 1-10) or Clippers
• 2026: Clippers, Rockets (protected 1-4), own

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Presti has hit the highest of highs in the draft selecting three future MVPs in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. The opposite is also true as the Magician has whiffed on some draft picks. Where Presti has excelled is his ability to jettison talent at the right time and garner back value for those assets.

As Presti ponders the future this collection of draft picks could be bolstered if he elects to trade Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, and/or Steven Adams. Or the Thunder magician might pool together some of those picks to trade for a young asset to partner with the OKC young talented trio of SGA, Luguentz Dort, and Darius Bazley.

While Sam Presti couldn’t give Donovan an answer that equated to more than two years the truth is he shouldn’t force that choice now anyway.

Suffice to say Presti is creating his own process and for the moment the world is his oyster.