At the end of last season, fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder were still optimistic about their team's future, even after back-t0-back exits in the first round of the playoffs with Russell Westbrook and Paul George leading the way.
Back then it felt like they only needed a couple more pieces to legitimately contend for a championship.
Roughly two months later, the Thunder were essentially forced to blow up their team.
The Thunder traded George to the Los Angeles Clippers and a couple of days later, they shipped Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets. They got decent players and a ton of draft picks in return for both deals, but fans were still left wondering, why?
OKC general manager Sam Presti explained the decisions he made this summer in a letter he wrote which was published in Oklahoman.com.
This summer, the story of the Oklahoma City Thunder is transitioning to a new phase. Over the last few weeks, we have parted ways with foundational players — people who have represented our city to the world, who have sacrificed for us and flourished on our behalf. Although this has been painful, I also believe that — given the circumstances — it was necessary. In saying goodbye to the past, we have begun to chart our future. The next great Thunder team is out there somewhere, but it will take time to seize and discipline to ultimately sustain.
Oklahoma City expects, and deserves, extraordinary success. Delivering this is what drives us. But I want to be transparent and realistic about the process that meeting these types of expectations may require. Despite our city’s rapid rise and growth, Oklahoma City remains the second-smallest market in the NBA. While this brings many benefits, it also poses strategic challenges. Given the way the league’s system is designed, small market teams operate with significant disadvantages. There is no reason to pretend otherwise. This in no way means we cannot be extraordinarily successful — we, and several other small to mid-market teams, are our own best examples of the ability to overcome these realities. It simply means we must be thinking differently, optimistically, finding our advantages by other means.
In order to build — and then sustain — a truly great basketball team, it requires a method. This method is not guesswork or a convenient message that miscasts other’s good fortune as a repeatable skill. To build true excellence in any industry, and then sustain it, requires trading on time and playing the empirical odds. This will require strategic discipline and thoughtful patience, but these are values our organization has always held high. That’s how longevity is earned. It is important to remember that.
Same Presti understands that letting go of two of the best players in the NBA today wasn't easy, and that rebuilding takes time. This will be a long, grueling process for the franchise, but with good decision making and an ample amount of patience, they could be back in the title picture sooner rather than later.
OKC was able to draft three future MVPs dating back to 2008. Now, the likelihood of that ever happening again is close to impossible, but that's the reason why they looked to get as many draft picks as possible. They know that the future will be filled with makes and misses, and that what's important is they remain prepared for whatever happens in the next five years.
Over the past decade, OKC has been one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA. They may have failed to win a championship during that span, but if there's one good takeaway from everything that's happened, it's the fact that they have a great front office who knows what it takes to build a competitive team.
So let us all wait and see what will happen with this team moving forward.
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