Sam Presti Puns

Celtics fan here, and I just want to say that there is no team that I believe has a brighter future than OKC. I genuinely think that y'all will be NBA finals contenders in the next 4-5 years. Love Presti's draft pick accumulation (despite the memes) and there are few individuals that I believe are as capable as him to execute on picks/trades. This org has a clear plan on how they intend to return to contention and already having young talented pieces like Shai, Dort, and Giddey only serves to expedite that timeline to finals contention. It's been really fun watching this 'rebuild' play out and I can't wait to see what's next

I went back to see what he gave up for Horford. This was the trade:

The Philadelphia 76ers have acquired Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson and Vincent Poirier from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Al Horford, a 2025 protected first-round pick and the draft rights to Théo Maledon and Vasilije Mici.

And todays trade was:

The Celtics are trading Kemba Walker, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft and a 2025 second-round draft pick to Oklahoma City for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick

So basically he just converted Danny Green, Terrence Ferguson and Vincent Poirier into a:

An All-Star guard (that has problems in the playoffs but can get you thru the reg season)

16th pick this year

1st round pick

2nd round pick.

Kinda insane right ?

Tweet >First Horford, now Kemba: We’re going to brand this move — absorb a bad contract, rehabilitate the player and then move him for another distressed contract and a first round pick — the Sam Presti. As one exec texted, a Kemba-for-Porzingis swap next year seems inevitable.

Idk if we're waiting that long for it lol

“This will take time and involve hard choices. There will always be the temptation to take shortcuts, to look for instant gratification. There will no doubt be criticisms - much of which we could all recite in advance right now. It is the job of the organization to resist those shortcuts, accept that criticism, and keep us deeply committed. If you want an exceptional outcome, you must be willing to be the exception.”

How quickly we forget.

You, yes you, reading this post right now; you do not know more about basketball than Sam Presti.

Yes, we can talk and criticize freely. But understand that you have no control. Don’t get too frustrated about things that you cannot change.

If we can’t trust Sam to make the right choices, we can’t trust anyone.

On Draft Day 2020 Sixers shiny new POBO, Daryl Morey, sent a lightly protected '25 PHI 1st, among other things, to the OKC Thunder in order for them to take the Horford albatross contract off their hands.

This '25 PHI 1st is protected as follows:

• -> '25 PHI 1st top 8 protected
• --> '26 PHI 1st top 4 protected
• ---> '27 PHI 1st top 4 protected
• ----> '27 PHI 2nd

At face value, this pick and its protections seem largely inconsequential. Not only is it ridiculously unlikely that Sixers are once again a lottery team by 2025 especially with what Morey believes to be two MVP candidates in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but the pick is softly protected on the off chance that they are!

However, in 1983 the NBA instituted a little thing known as the Stepien Rule. For the unaware, the Stepien Rule prevents teams from trading out of the 1st round in consecutive future seasons. Lesser known are the complications introduced by the Stepien Rule when trading a protected a future 1st.. Namely that it prevents teams from trading a first-round pick if there’s any chance at all that it will leave a team without a first-rounder for two straight years.

Going back to the '25 PHI 1st (top 8 protected) that Morey traded, application of the Stepien Rule (and the Seven Year Rule) means that

#The Philadelphia 76ers cannot trade:

• '24 PHI 1st (consecutive with '25 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• '25 PHI 1st (softly protected for top 8)
• '26 PHI 1st (protected for top 4 if '25 PHI 1st doesn't convey, consecutive with '25 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• '27 PHI 1st (protected for top 4 if '25 PHI 1st and '26 PHI don't convey, consecutive with '26 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• '28 PHI 1st (consecutive with '27 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• Any 1st round pick beyond '28

Thus, without any trades, the BEST possible selection of Sixers' tradeable 1st round picks is:

• #28 in '21 draft
• '23 PHI 1st

And in 3 days, this potential future draft capital shrinks to exactly ONE of '22 PHI 1st OR '23 PHI 1st.

I'm no sadist (but this does put a smile on my face) so I'll briefly outline a couple means of recourse as the Sixers

June 23, 2016: Ibaka is traded by OKC to the Orlando Magic for Ersan İlyasova, Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. • Oladipo 2x all star (18,19) • Sabonis 2x all star (20,21)

July 6, 2017: Oladipo and Sabonis are traded by OKC to the Indiana Pacers for Paul George. • George 7x all star (13,14,16-19,21)

July 10, 2019: George is traded by OKC to the Los Angeles Clippers for Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Clippers' 2022, 2024 and 2026 first-round picks, the Heat's 2021 pick, lottery-protected 2023 pick, right to swap picks with the Clippers: in 2023 and 2025.

(4*) - basically a lock for SGA in the near future barring anything disastrous.

Even though Oladipo and Sabonis weren’t all stars with OKC these series of acquisitions show Presti’s ability to acquire talent. Everyone knows about him drafting 3 straight MVP’s but this is a pretty underrated series of acquisitions by him.

The Washington Wizards just completed a complicated sign & trade with the Brooklyn Nets as part of 5 team trade to acquire Spencer Dinwiddie. They ultimately had to part with a 2nd round pick and a 1st round pick swap to complete the deal. There was some talk earlier in the week that they might include a first round pick -- but they can't currently trade a 1st rounder from 2022-2027, all because of a protected 2023 pick that they owe OKC.

The Steipen Rule states that teams cannot trade a first round pick if it will leave them without first round picks in consecutive drafts. So if a team owes a pick with protections that roll into future seasons -- they're not going to be allowed to trade firsts in that window that the protection might roll into.

Some criticism has been leveled at Presti's accumulation of middling, highly protected picks. He's got a shitload of picks but how valuable actually are they? Do a ton of mid to late first round picks actually do anything to move the needle of a rebuilding franchise?

But is there a scenario where other teams might be desperate to remove these protections if they are locked out of trading future firsts?

OKC owns picks from so many teams with these rolling protections, that almost a fourth of the league has long stretches of time in which they cannot currently trade a first round pick -- because of what they owe to OKC.

WASHINGTON - cannot currently trade first rounders from 2022-2027 due to a '23 protected first they owe OKC.

PHILADELPHIA - cannot currently trade first rounders from 2024-2028 due to a '25 protected first they owe OKC.

MIAMI - cannot currently trade first rounders from 2022-2027 due to a '23 protected first they owe OKC.

DETROIT - cannot currently trade first rounders from 2022-2027 due to a '22 protected first they owe OKC.

PHOENIX - cannot currently trade first rounders from 2022-2026 due to a '22 protected first they owe OKC.

DENVER - cannot currently trade first rounders from 2022-2026 due to a '23 protected first they owe OKC.

UTAH - cannot currently trade first rounders from 2022-2027 due to a '22 protected first that they owe Memphis, and then a pick that will either land in '24 or '25 (based on when the pick to Memphis conveys) to OKC.

OKC owns lightly protected picks from Houston in '24 and '26, but these roll into second rounders the following year if they fall into the protection. Houston also owns multiple firsts from other teams, so they can avoid this multi year inabili

Full quote from KOC’s column:

> There have been rumblings for months that Danny Ainge would leave the Celtics. League sources say he was eyeing jobs in Utah, where many members of his family live, or Portland, his home state and another franchise that could undergo change if the Trail Blazers lose in the first or second round. [...]

> Before hiring Stevens, league sources say Celtics ownership considered other internal candidates and even pondered pursuing Sam Presti, a native of Massachusetts who has run the Thunder since they were still the Sonics. Presti is a proven front-office boss who steered a small-market team to great success through savvy acquisitions and wise draft picks. Stevens has no front-office experience, and has only been in the NBA since 2013, when the Celtics plucked him out of Butler.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/6/2/22465384/brad-stevens-danny-ainge-boston-celtics

Dang, even with Ainge out, the Celtics were still thisclose to getting their guy. Would have been a major coup to get Presti. Good Luck, Brad Stevens! 🍀

Listening to the latest from our favorite okc pod, Down to Dunk . I couldn’t help but think about similarities between our small market strategy, Presti’s negotiation tactics, and the way it ties back to the movie about the Oakland As.

Maybe one day we’ll get our own version! Who would play Sam? Who’s our Brad Pitt?

Source

Here's hoping that he wins the championship

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with the latest trade getting George Hill off the thunders books, even after acquiring Tony Bradley and Austin Rivers, the thunder are now $15 million under the salary floor which will be split evenly amongst the current thunder players under contract. For guys like Roby, Williams, Maledon and Dort this is almost equivalent to their whole salary.

These were two different situations, but both revolve around open tanking.

While Sam Hinkie’s Process Sixers were seen very controversially at the time, there seems to be much more public buy-in for what Presti is doing in OKC.

Presti has been masterful in accumulating picks and flipping bad contracts for even more picks at a level that Hinkie didn’t go to with Philly.

That being said, could Presti have executed this plan Pre-“the Process” without being fired before his work came into fruition?

I started following and watching OKC during their playoffs-finals run against Dallas in 2011. I fell in love with this team and especially KDs ability to score.

Before KD left i never knew how i would feel if he ever left. When the day came and he left, i realized that my love for this team is bigger and realized Westbrook really is and was the heart and soul of the Thunder. I remember thinking, what if Russ left, how would i feel about this team.

The result? I still LOVE this team, and i think much of the happiness that i get from watching such a great organzation comes from the FO and most importantly Sam Presti. It is so great and we are blessed to have a GM who always strives to take the team to the next level. As a fan i never thought my most favorite guy on the team would be the GM.

This is coming from a Swedish fan that has been following the Thunder and the NBA from Sweden. 10 years ago i was wondering would i still love this team if they rebuilded, the answer is YES im still here and I love Sam Presti, we are blessed.

Cheers to all you other fans also sticking around during the rebuild and thank you for keeping this community going.

Do you have any stories to share?

Edit: I really appreciate each one of you sharing your stories. Feels so great to unite in this fanbase together and see people go through both same and diffrent journeys. Cheers and Thunder Up!!

Don’t get too caught up in trades or who we draft...

Sam Presti knows more than any of us about this. It’s what he lives and breathes.

Chill out, put on your favorite jersey, drink a beer/roll a joint...

And relax

In Presti we trust

More Presti on SGA’s extension: “We are looking forward to watching his individual growth and the collective development of our team as we continue on our path toward sustainable success in Oklahoma City.”

https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/1423786516728397824?s=21

Sam Presti’s quote on Darius Bazley from his 2021 end of season press conference:

“Players improve, and then they hit roadblocks and regression. It’s all part of development. It doesn't go smoothy. Bazley is a good example of that. I love the way Bazley finished the season. I thought he took a huge jump. But there were parts of the season where he plateaued a little bit. So much credit to Bazley for embracing the plateau, for fighting through that, for recognizing there is another jump coming if he continues to stick to those habits and the mentality we’ve worked with him on, and he got a big boost. Actually, the biggest boost that Bazley got was during the rehab from the shoulder. He got tremendous, consistent work, both physically and skill wise, and that’s work that he wasn’t able to get in the offseason. He actually got almost a mini-offseason during the injury, and I think that is one of the reasons he finished the season so strong. The same will be true with Theo and Poku. Development is a process, not an event. You can’t put people in bubble wrap, and say we don’t want to experience losing or tough times or to get your ass kicked. That is part of development. The NBA is a really tough league and the history of the great players in the league is that they bounce back from failure, they bounce back from setbacks and injuries, and that is how you know they are the best players.” - Sam Presti

Bazley’s quote on his development:

“The biggest takeaway is, the stuff that I strive for and the team strives for is found in details. To keep working those little things; as simple as talking on defense, talking in transition, watching film; that stuff is found in details. I have taken away a lot from this season. I feel like the easy way out is to tell you I have gotten better with driving, shooting, but it really was a lot to learn from and I am grateful for the experience.” - Darius Bazley

Presti and the organization clearly believe and are committed to Bazley’s development. They are embracing and supporting Bazley’s ups and downs, just as they do with any other young player. Poku and Theo will also struggle this year, but the organization will keep believing in them.

Presti likes Bazley’s attitude and maturity. Bazley’s quote on focusing on the small things shows how mature his outlook is for a 21 year old. Presti mentioned in his 2020 bubble press conference that he had dinner with Bazley and was very impressed

On Draft Day 2020 Sixers shiny new POBO, Daryl Morey, sent a lightly protected '25 PHI 1st, among other things, to the OKC Thunder in order for them to take the Horford albatross contract off their hands.

This '25 PHI 1st is protected as follows:

• -> '25 PHI 1st top 8 protected
• --> '26 PHI 1st top 4 protected
• ---> '27 PHI 1st top 4 protected
• ----> '27 PHI 2nd

At face value, this pick and its protections seem largely inconsequential. Not only is it ridiculously unlikely that Sixers are once again a lottery team by 2025 especially with what Morey believes to be two MVP candidates in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but the pick is softly protected on the off chance that they are!

However, in 1983 the NBA instituted a little thing known as the Stepien Rule. For the unaware, the Stepien Rule prevents teams from trading out of the 1st round in consecutive future seasons. Lesser known are the complications introduced by the Stepien Rule when trading a protected a future 1st.. Namely that it prevents teams from trading a first-round pick if there’s any chance at all that it will leave a team without a first-rounder for two straight years.

Going back to the '25 PHI 1st (top 8 protected) that Morey traded, application of the Stepien Rule (and the Seven Year Rule) means that

#The Philadelphia 76ers cannot trade:

• '24 PHI 1st (consecutive with '25 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• '25 PHI 1st (softly protected for top 8)
• '26 PHI 1st (protected for top 4 if '25 PHI 1st doesn't convey, consecutive with '25 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• '27 PHI 1st (protected for top 4 if '25 PHI 1st and '26 PHI don't convey, consecutive with '26 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• '28 PHI 1st (consecutive with '27 PHI 1st which they might not own)
• Any 1st round pick beyond '28

Thus, without any trades, the BEST possible selection of Sixers' tradeable 1st round picks is:

• #28 in '21 draft
• '23 PHI 1st

And in 3 days, this potential future draft capital shrinks to exactly ONE of '22 PHI 1st OR '23 PHI 1st.

I'm no sadist (but this does put a smile on my face) so I'll briefly outline a couple means of recourse as the Sixers