Sam Presti is the longest tenured general manager in the NBA right now and that is not a coincidence. The job he has done constructing the Oklahoma City Thunder since joining the team in 2007 is quite remarkable and while he has seen his organization go from a championship contender to “rock bottom” in the league, a very bright future is on the horizon for the Thunder.
Not only has Presti constructed this team around high-level, young talents like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Josh Giddey and others, but he has stockpiled 35 draft picks through the 2028 NBA Draft.
Every offseason, it seems like the Thunder are adding more and more draft picks to their name and now, they have enough draft stock to be able to build two new expansion teams in this league over the next several years!
Between continuing drafting high-level prospects and utilizing draft picks to add talent around them, Oklahoma City is just a few years away from becoming a powerhouse in the NBA and they will do so by being the youngest team in the league.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Rockets-Thunder Trade Lands Christian Wood In OKC
This organization has plenty of opportunities to build their “team of the future” anyway they would like and they could very well continue doing so at the trade deadline this season.
The Thunder are currently 6-14, so they will most likely not be adding talent to try and make a playoff run, but they have several players on their roster that they could deal away to gain more future assets.
Derrick Favors, Mike Muscala, Ty Jerome and Kenrich Williams are all players that the Oklahoma City Thunder could look to trade for value, so we should definitely expect Sam Presti and this front-office to once again be busy as this season’s trade deadline silently approaches.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Rockets-Thunder Trade Lands Christian Wood In OKC
While it is unlikely that they will look to add talent to win right away, could the Thunder look to build for the future by targeting a handful of players at the trade deadline this year?
Let’s take a look at three players Oklahoma City could target, as proposed by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, and evaluate whether or not the Thunder should “pass or pursue” said trade targets.
