Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade and 13 other genius Thunder moves Sam Presti nailed

1. Flipping Paul George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Losing a superstar and entering a rebuild is difficult. Paul George wanted to go home to Los Angeles and join Kawhi Leonard on the Clippers. Sam Presti honored that request, but he was not going to make the move unless he extracted every ounce of value from the Clips. Little did anyone know at the time that the best player might be headed to OKC.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a must in the trade. The 20-year-old had a strong rookie season, but was hardly a star. There were flashes of elite potential, but he was not going to stop the Clippers from acquiring Paul George and immediately becoming title contenders.

SGA quickly became a superstar in Oklahoma City and is the face of their franchise. He is in the thick of the MVP race and averaging over 31 points per game for the second straight year. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the league’s best and only 25 years old.

To make things better, the Thunder also got five first-round draft picks and two first-round swaps for Paul George. One of the picks turned into Jalen Williams, who is a budding star for the Thunder. It was a massive haul that only Sam Presti could make happen.

He is unquestionably one of the best lead executives in the NBA, but what is the next genius move Presti has up his sleeve? The Oklahoma City Thunder still have a ton of draft capital and a desire to contend, so stay tuned.