Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade and 13 other genius Thunder moves Sam Presti nailed
By Tyler Watts
11. Serge Ibaka trade
Ibaka’s production had started to decline before the Thunder traded him in 2016. He was no longer blocking three shots every night. His 3-point shooting dipped to 32.6 percent after three straight years of 35-plus and his scoring was down to 12.6 points per game.
The Thunder knew Kevin Durant was leaving in free agency, so they attempted to retool around Russell Westbrook by trading Ibaka to the Magic for the 11th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Victor Oladipo, and Ersan Ilyasova. The 6’11 big man lasted just eight months in Orlando before being traded for Terrence Ross and a 2017 1st rounder which ended up being 25th overall.
Oklahoma City sold at the right time, and in usual Sam Presti fashion got a massive haul. Oladipo was the second overall pick in 2013 and was the Thunder’s number two scorer behind Russell Westbrook in 2017. Domantas Sabonis carved out a 20-minute per-game role as a rookie and showed enough potential to maintain his trade value. Ilyasova was quickly traded to the 76ers with a first-round pick for Jerami Grant.
Presti dealt Oladipo and Sabonis for a superstar after just one year with the Thunder, which took this trade from plus to outstanding.