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How Sam Presti And The Thunder Were Able To Amass 34 Draft Picks In The Next 7 Drafts

One of the biggest recurring themes in these past few months, has been asset management. Many rebuilding and retooling teams are trading some of their franchise and All-Star players, for a king’s ransom of picks and draft assets. Some of these organizations are notably the Pelicans, Rockets, and Thunder. However, the most intriguing team on this list are the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Before Thursday’s trade deadline, the Thunder traded George Hill for two second round picks, Tony Bradley and Austin Rivers. With this move, the Thunder now have a projected 34!!! draft picks in the next seven years. They now own 17 first round picks, and 17 second round picks, all coming from their recent attempt at a rebuild.

Two years ago, the Thunder were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, by the Portland Trail Blazers with a shot that was heard around the world; Damian Lillard’s game-winning buzzer beater three. They proceeded to ship out Paul George to the Clippers, for a record number of picks, and young stud Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, while moving franchise point guard Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul and picks. Thunder General Manager Sam Presti has made it his mission to stockpile as many assets as he can, in order to provide long-term success for the Thunder franchise.

With all of their recent moves, the Thunder have built themselves a solid young foundation of players, with Shai, Lu Dort, and Darius Bazley, while amassing an absurd amount of ammo for future trades and/or draft selections. Presti is setting them up to be serious contenders in the future. He’s not only rebuilding their team but setting them up for long-term success. The Thunder have also been notorious for drafting pretty well in past years, and could be scary in the near future.