The 2025 NBA Playoffs are truly shaping up to be a time of full-out vindication for the OKC Thunder and, more specifically, GM Sam Presti.
After fizzling out in two rounds during their ill-fated postseason run last year, throughout the summer fans and media pundits were quite vocal about their desire to see Oklahoma City finally cash in on their bevy of high-value assets and strike on a trade for a win-now piece to help this young and hungry squad thrust over the hump.
In the end, despite all the outside noise and pressures to make a move, Presti opted to keep the club's core largely intact and hold onto his treasure trove of draft capital.
Though at the time, there were some who may have been a bit ticked off with this decision, considering the fact that the Thunder currently find themselves participating in their first conference finals in nearly a decade, it's difficult to still argue against the storied executive's logic.
Frankly, with how Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves wound up unfolding, it's safe to say that Presti's bold bet has more than paid off.
Sam Presti's trade trepidation a big part of why Thunder are up 1-0
While there was never any question over whether the Thunder would consider trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, there were certainly arguments made throughout the offseason for why guys like Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and even Cason Wallace should be dangled on the market.
Luckily, OKC's front office didn't pay any mind to such chatter, for all of these aforementioned players served as driving forces alongside SGA in the team's 114-88 win in Tuesday's series opener.
As a collective, this quartet, in particular, accounted for roughly 60.0 percent of the Thunder's point total, and, while Wallace may have only contributed a mere three of his own, through his distribution (seven assists on the night), he was directly responsible for another 16.
Had OKC made any number of the moves proposed this past offseason, there's a good chance that at least one of these aforementioned names would have been offloaded, along with a few others strewn across the roster, depending on what type of salary figures were involved.
Instead, Presti's trepidation to significantly shake up the roster helped pave the way to the Thunder not only having arguably the deepest rotation in the league, but the best odds to finally take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy and, more immediately, a 1-0 series lead over the Timberwolves.
Though coughing up someone like J-Dub or Chet for an established superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo, for example, may have been the splashier move, Sam Presti went for quieter, more strategic maneuvers such as trading for Alex Caruso and signing Isaiah Hartenstein last summer instead.
As a result, Oklahoma City now finds itself a mere three wins away from clinching their first NBA Finals berth since 2011-12.