The Oklahoma City Thunder are being praised for its series of moves this offseason.
Following Paul George's decision to play with two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Thunder traded the All-Star, who they re-signed this time last year, to LA. After that, OKC sent forward Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets for a 2020 first-round pick, and traded long-time star point guard Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets.
After the three transactions, the Thunder are ripe with future first-rounders stashed to ease the franchise's first rebuild since relocating from Seattle, Washington.
The laundry list of future picks general manager Sam Presti and the OKC own, per The Athletic:
• 2020: Own pick; Denver first-round pick (Grant; protected 1-10, so almost certain to convey to the Thunder in 2020).
•2021: Higher of the first-round picks between OKC and Houston (Westbrook; protected 1-4); Miami first-round pick (George; unprotected).
• 2022: Own pick; Clippers first-round pick (George).
• 2023: Higher of the first-round picks between OKC and the Clippers (George); Miami first-round pick (George; protected 1-14 from 2023 through 2025; if it hasn’t conveyed by 2025, it is unprotected in 2026).
• 2024: Own pick; Clippers first-round pick (George); Rockets first-round pick (Westbrook).
• 2025: Higher of the first-round picks between OKC and the Clippers (George) and higher of the first-round picks between OKC and the Rockets (Westbrook; protected 1-4).
• 2026: Own pick; Rockets first-round pick (Westbrook).
It's a list so long it fatigues ones eyes upon reading it. OKC can use these picks to acquire available stars in the future or, if they really choose so, draft all the players and develop them as they see fit. But as the Thunder quickly learned in July, stars can be free agents despite contract status (see: Paul George).
More from The Athletic:
“Not just because of the sheer volume of picks,” one GM said over the weekend. “It’s the pick quality that really matters. They have some very valuable assets in up picks from teams that could suck.”
The Thunder are insulating themselves from a future of multiple, consecutive years ruddering at the bottom of the league. Picks can be used to get solid, veteran help from players or packaged together to grab a star player to bring the team back to relevancy after the Russell Westbrook era ended.
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