An NBA rival executive believes that the next season or two will be tough for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but “they might be terrific again” after that, per Keith Smith of RealGM.

During free agency, the Thunder traded away franchise stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George. In exchange, they received a ton of first-round draft picks along with Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari. The executive believes the Thunder will be in the losing column for the next season or two, but in time, they might turn into contenders once again:

“It would be really nice to have that many picks, wouldn’t it? (laughs) I mean you can do almost anything with that. And they might have their next franchise guy in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to build around. We made a call on him, because you call on everyone, and the Clippers told us no way. And this was early in free agency. So, obviously they were high on him. I think Oklahoma City will be ok. They’ll be bad for a year or two, but after that, they might be terrific again.”

The Thunder weren't expecting to go this route when they entered the offseason, but George and Westbrook were frustrated by the lack of playoff success the last two seasons. When George had the opportunity to play with Kawhi Leonard in Los Angeles, he wanted out and demanded a trade. Once George was gone, it was only natural to move Westbrook next.

While some fans are still uneasy about the team's franchise-altering moves, it should be noted that the team has a great track record of spotting the best prospects out there. They did pick Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden consecutively from 2007 to 2009. The Thunder executives have a keen eye for talent, and they're going to need that to help retool this franchise.