The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the best-run organizations from an asset management perspective over the last decade. Sam Presti has not had a perfect tenure since joining in 2007, but when he hits big on a deal, it impacts the franchise dramatically.
Presti has been improving the Thunder asset situation gradually over the last few seasons. Even after hitting big on a roster reshuffle in 2019, Presti has added picks every season by accepting salary dumps from across the league. They used a salary dump to move up to No. 10 in the 2023 Draft and acquired Davis Bertans. In previous seasons, they’ve done so with players such as Al Horford, Danny Green, Kemba Walker, and recently with a controversial deal for Kevin Porter Jr.
In addition to a strong draft record that has formulated the core of the Thunder, Presti has made trades that have turned out really well for the franchise. But what are some of his best deals as the Thunder’s GM?
5. Carmelo Anthony for Dennis Schroder
76ers Receive: Mike Muscala
Hawks Receive: Carmelo Anthony, Justin Anderson, 2022 Protected First-Round Pick (OKC)
Thunder Receive: Dennis Schroder, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
In the summer of 2018, there was no way the OKC Thunder could have entered the next season with Carmelo Anthony on their squad. Despite Melo adjusting to a new style of play alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George, he was of minimal use in the playoffs and averaged 11.8 points in their first-round series loss to the Jazz, shooting 37.5% from the field. No team was expected to go near Melo, but Presti found a move to a great transitional point guard.
Dennis Schroder was moved from the Hawks after they drafted Trae Young, and he got an opportunity to be the sixth man on the Thunder. Over two seasons, Schroder excelled as the Thunder were a playoff team, averaging 17.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. He was a runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year in 2019-20 and was traded to the Lakers with his value at an all-time high.
Melo was waived by the Hawks and then played just 14 games for the Rockets and was waived once again, while the Thunder got a solid player for two seasons before shipping him off for additional assets.
4. Serge Ibaka for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis
Magic Receive: Serge Ibaka
Thunder Receive: Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova
Serge Ibaka is considered by many as an OKC Thunder legend. He was crucial to their success in the early 2010s, anchoring the team’s defense and stretching the floor when needed. The Thunder valued him so highly at a point that they were willing to lose James Harden to keep Ibaka. But by 2016, Ibaka was showing the beginnings of a decline, so Presti expertly pulled off a trade to swap out a respected veteran for hot young prospects.
Victor Oladipo was coming off a strong three-season run in Orlando where he averaged 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. Domantas Sabonis had just been drafted with the No. 11 pick and was projected to be a solid player but not the multi-time All-Star we see today. The Thunder didn’t end up getting a lot of on-court value from either but expertly used their potential to leverage themselves into another deal where they received an MVP-caliber player.
Ibaka would average 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in one season with the Magic, never raising their ceiling. He’d ultimately get moved to Toronto, where he became an NBA Champion in 2019.
3. Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul
Rockets Receive: Russell Westbrook
Thunder Receive: Chris Paul, 2021 First-Round Pick Swap (HOU), 2024 Top-4 Protected First-Round Pick (HOU), 2025 First-Round Pick Swap (HOU), 2026 Top-4 Protected First-Round Pick (HOU)
Trading away a franchise legend is an impossible decision, but Sam Presti made that move at the perfect time. After two seasons with a first-round exit with Paul George, it became clear to Presti that this era of the Thunder was over and he traded away Westbrook one season removed from an MVP year for a bevy of draft picks and Chris Paul, who became unwelcome on the Rockets by that point.
Paul was assumed to just be a salary-matching move, with many thinking CP3 was in the final years of his career and would likely not find another home. Instead, Paul marshaled a young team to the fifth seed, with most predicting the Thunder to be the worst team in the West. He was crucial in the development of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and almost led the Thunder to beat the Rockets who traded him in the 2020 Playoffs.
Westbrook was gone from Houston within one season, while the Thunder moved Paul as a positive asset before fully committing to tanking for the 2020/21 season.
2. Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for Paul George
Pacers Receive: Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis
Thunder Receive: Paul George
The OKC Thunder made really good use of the Ibaka trade, as the assets they received in that deal ultimately got them an MVP-level Paul George in his prime. With George destined to leave Indiana for one of the LA teams in 2017, the Thunder took a gamble and sent away two bright young talents and no draft picks for a Pacers organization that likely would have received nothing if they kept waiting.
Oladipo and Sabonis became All-Stars in Indiana, with a Sabonis trade ultimately landing Indiana their franchise cornerstone in Tyrese Haliburton. Funnily, Oladipo is currently on the Thunder roster right now after he was a part of the Kevin Porter Jr. trade.
Paul George averaged 25.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists over his two seasons with the Thunder and made the franchise a genuine contender. He missed just 8 games over those two seasons. Even though both seasons ended with playoff disaster, there wasn’t even hope for contention for the franchise after Kevin Durant left. Getting a superstar like George was quite an accomplishment and ultimately was one of the greatest decisions they ever made because of what came next.
1. Paul George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Clippers Receive: Paul George
Thunder Receive: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 2021 First-Round Pick (MIA), 2022 First-Round Pick (LAC), 2023 Protected First-Round Pick (MIA), 2023 First-Round Pick Swap (LAC), 2024 First-Round Pick (LAC), 2025 First-Round Pick Swap (LAC), 2026 First-Round Pick (LAC)
This may go down as one of the most one-sided trades in NBA history. Sam Presti will be considered a genius for the rest of his career for pulling this trade off, even though it made sense when it first took place. In order to make sure that Kawhi Leonard didn’t sign with the LA Lakers, the Clippers acquired Paul George in a massive deal that sent away sophomore guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, veteran Danilo Gallinari, and seven first-round picks.
In the same summer when the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis, both teams justified their decision by making the NBA title their aim. The Lakers reached that in their very first season while the Clippers are still waiting for even a Finals appearance with George and Leonard, a duo that’s had some of the worst injury luck in the NBA.
The picks are obviously a massive attraction, but the fact that the Thunder also got SGA is the main takeaway. He ranks ahead of both George and Leonard in player rankings around the league already and is considered among the best in the world. Unless the Clippers can make a move to win the title within the next two seasons, it’s likely this will remain one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history.
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