OKC Thunder: B/R praises Sam Presti’s offseason strategy

In a recent article, Bleacher Report went on to praise the OKC Thunder for their offseason strategy, deeming it “the best one for a small-market team.”

Despite managing to shock the NBA world last season by clinching a postseason berth, the OKC Thunder come into 2020-21 with one word on their mind — tank.

While one may have envisioned this mindset to be hard for the team’s fanbase to accept, being they’ve seen playoff action in 10 of the last 11 seasons, it would appear that the majority of them seem to be just fine with embracing a full-blown rebuild.

This offseason, General Manager Sam Presti has managed to flip copious amounts of contracts in exchange for long-term assets and future draft capital. While these moves may have hindered the appeal of watching the team heading into this year — as there are only a handful of games fans may wish to watch — many would venture to say this path was the correct one to take.

In fact, Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes would go as far as to say that the route which Presti has taken this offseason is simply “the best one for a small-market team.”

"Oklahoma City’s strategy seems like the best one for a small-market team that wants a fresh start, and the first edition of The Process, which took place not so long ago in Philadelphia, proved you don’t even have to get very many of those forthcoming draft decisions right to lock in several playoff seasons in a row.The Thunder could have run it back—with Chris Paul or whatever more present-focused package he could have commanded in trade—and fought for a playoff spot. But Presti flipped the rebuild switch and positioned his team to win the longer game."

Thanks to the moves Sam Presti has made over the past two offseasons, the OKC Thunder currently find themselves in possession of a combined 22 first- and second-round selections coming within the next five years, a number that no other teams own.

Though this upcoming year may be a tough one to watch for Oklahoma City fans, in the long run hopefully this will all prove to be well worth it.