Sam Presti is the one NBA government ever to draft 3 destiny MVPs and he did it in 3 consecutive drafts. It’s a maniacal stroke of good fortune and an workout of chance/praise, probability and foresight. By way of doing so, Presti on the time assured momentary good fortune for the soon-to-be relocated Seattle Sonics into the Oklahoma Town Thunder. The brand new franchise would perform within the league’s smallest marketplace and want super-sized big name energy to maintain them financially and competitively. Presti delivered by means of deciding on Kevin Durant moment in 2007, Russell Westbrook fourth in 2008, and James Harden 3rd in 2009. Whilst epic, since 2009, Presti has now not drafted some other participant who has earned All-Famous person or All-NBA honors, or any of the league’s end-of-the-year awards. Whilst he merits credit score for kicking off OKC’s get started as a franchise, he has been embarrassingly dangerous at scouting skill since Harden.
However first, the great. Durant would win MVP in 2014, Westbrook in 2017 with the Thunder, and Harden in 2018 with the Houston Rockets. It’s one in every of NBA historical past’s nice scouting acumens, deciding on 3 guys who would pass directly to be now not simply MVPs however named Best 75 Avid gamers in NBA historical past and surefire first-ballot Corridor of Famers. The trio stocks 33 All-Famous person choices, 26 All-NBA Crew nominations, 9 scoring titles, and 5 season help chief titles. However whilst Durant gained two championships with the Golden State Warriors, all over the 3 years the trio shared in OKC and the 11 years Westbrook spent with the workforce, Presti may now not deliver a unmarried championship to the franchise. It is likely one of the all-time underachievements in sports activities historical past. However glance nearer, and you are going to in finding some other.
The way it all fell aside
Now that we’ve got stated the historical back-to-back-to-back destiny NBA draft choices Presti discovered within the most sensible 4, we will dive deeper into what he did within the draft later on. All over the Westbrook-Durant run, from 2008 thru 2016, the workforce was once too just right to have a select within the draft lottery, so easy Presti sycophants (of which there are lots of in OKC fandom) will level to Presti wanting to take main swings to construct a supporting forged for competition. However the Thunder have been handiest in a position to succeed in the Finals as soon as, in 2012, an embarrassing defeat with 3, after which two superstars. Even though Harden was once in a reserve position, one wherein he gained 6th Guy of the 12 months award, he was once a celebrity in ready and in a position to taking on video games on his personal. Failing to surrender Harden and buying and selling him to destiny legacy in Houston stays a Presti foil for yet again.
From 2011 to 2017, Presti had a first-round select variety in each draft with the exception of for 2016. And as a substitute of selecting surefire complimentary avid gamers who may plug in round Durant, he took what Thunder interns dub “giant swings.” That is essential as a result of he has persevered this failed means with Thunder 2.0, taking misses within the first and moment rounds whilst looking to construct round destiny MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who he snagged within the largest fleece of the twenty first century. Underneath are the first-round choices Presti constituted of 2011 – 2017.
2011: Reggie Jackson, twenty fourth
2012: Perry Jackson, twenty eighth
2013: Steven Adams, twelfth
2014: Mitch McGary, twenty first
2015: Cameron Payne, 14th
2017: Terrance Ferguson, twenty first
Aside from for Adams, that’s a large number of busts. I gained’t waste time going thru each participant Presti may have decided on as a substitute, in all probability a more secure or higher are compatible round Durant and Westbrook. However simply having a look at guys like Ferguson tells you the whole lot you want to find out about how dangerous Presti’s eye check failed all over the 2010s. And it’s persevered into this present rebuild.
Lu Dort was once an undrafted gem Presti picked up in 2020 ahead of overpaying him with a five-year, $82.5 million extension, together with $65 million assured. His largest lottery whiff was once Josh Giddey in 2021 with the 6th select. This season, Giddey was once accused of getting intercourse with an underage lady, and because of her folks refusing to cooperate, he has have shyed away from additional issues. At the court docket, he’s averaging occupation lows in issues (11.4), assists (4.4) and rebounds (6.1). Presti bounced again in 2021 with the star-in-making number of Chet Holmgren, who will actualize his attainable if he remains wholesome. In that draft, Presti additionally were given the thieve of the draft with Jalen Williams on the twelfth select, which made his draft day industry with the New York Knicks so rattling unusual. The Thunder traded 3 destiny secure first-round selections on draft day to the Knicks for the eleventh select, taking long-term venture Ousman Dieng, who has been out of the Thunder’s rotation. The pinnacle-scratching transfer was once pointless in hindsight, particularly making an allowance for the ones selections have been to begin with got by means of the Thunder once they decided on, then traded Alperen Şengünin 2021. That fumble is Presti’s worst draft-day transfer and one he’s going to be apologetic about.
Out of the days Presti has decided on within the lottery (2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2021, 2022 (two times) and 2023), he hit on seven (Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Adams, Holmgren, Williams, and Wallace) and neglected on 3 (Cameron Payne, Giddey, Dieng). That’s an attractive forged fee over the past 15 years. However past that, on the subject of much less surefire choices, Presti has been atrocious. Of the 18 occasions he has decided on (and retained) between the fifteenth and sixtieth selections, he has handiest hit two times in his whole occupation: Serge Ibaka at No. 24 in 2008 and Reggie Jackson at No. 24 in 2011. Washouts like Mitch McGary, Ferguson and Theo Maledon have been all out of the NBA in 4 seasons or much less.
And what draft-day trades has Presti made since taking the activity? He’s misplaced each unmarried one. Have a look:
2010 (Misplaced): The Clippers got the 18th select (Eric Bledsoe) in change for a future-protected first-round draft select. The Thunder therefore incorporated that select in a industry with Boston, which netted them middle Kendrick Perkins.
2018 (Misplaced): The Memphis Grizzlies got the twenty first select (Brandon Clarke) for the 2019 draft rights to the twenty third select (Darius Bazley) and a destiny second-round draft select from the Thunder. Bazley is not within the NBA.
2020 (Misplaced): Minnesota Timberwolves got Ricky Rubio, the twenty fifth (Immanuel Quickley) and twenty eighth selections (Jaden McDaniels) for the No. seventeenth select (Aleksej Pokuševski). Poku was once waived previous this month.
2021 (Misplaced): Houston Rockets got sixteenth select (Alperen Şengün) for 2 destiny highly-protected first-round selections from the Wizards and Pistons. The ones selections could be packaged to make a choice Dieng in 2023. Dieng is out of the Thunder rotation.
2022 (TBD): Dallas swapped the tenth select (Cason Wallace) for the twelfth select (Derek Energetic). Whilst Wallace is an elite defender and three-point shooter, Energetic is strictly the type of rebounding giant they had to again up Holmgren. The Thunder are lately backside of the league in rebounding.
The Thunder waived Poku previous this month. Each Quickley and McDaniels are beginning for his or her respective groups. Even worse was once when Presti drafted present Maximum Progressed Participant candidate Şengün in 2021, simply to industry him on draft evening for destiny secure selections he would use within the industry with the Knicks to obtain Dieng. This season Şengün is averaging 21.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG and 5 APG. The squandering of Şengün is not only Presti’s worst draft determination ever, however one of the vital worst draft trades of the twenty first Century.
This isn’t to mention Presti has now not been one of the vital perfect executives of a small marketplace ever. And his acumen in development groups from the bottom up has few friends. The industry for Gilgeous-Alexander stays the largest fleece of the fashionable technology. However his skill for development throughout the draft in large part rides the coattails of his back-to-back-to-back destiny MVP choices of the past due 2000s. Since, he has been one of the vital worst within the NBA at taking swings within the lottery and particularly at discovering avid gamers who’ve even respectable careers past due within the first and moment rounds. However like Presti’s simps love to mention, “Scared cash don’t earn a living.” Neatly, it appears, it doesn’t make championships, both.
