The Oklahoma City Thunder finds itself in a very interesting situation just ahead of the trade deadline.
The team is playing significantly better than expected. They’re 30-20 heading into their February schedule after going 12-5 in the month of January and sitting securely in the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings.
Considering the Thunder was projected to win just 31.5 games before the season started, however it turns out, 2019-20 has to be considered a huge success.
But where does Sam Presti take the organization from here?
The logical move would be for Presti to continue down the path of rebuilding that he set into motion when he traded away Paul George and Russell Westbrook over the summer.
The good news for Presti here is that in bringing in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he secured the key piece for the future of the franchise. Gilgeous-Alexander has shown significant improvement from year one to year two, essentially ensuring that a rebuild wouldn’t consist of a complete bottoming out.
Oklahoma City has multiple players available to be traded, and there has been considerable conversation surrounding both Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams.
At this point, it reasonable to believe that although the Thunder has made Chris Paul available as well, because of his $44.2 million player option that he has been adamant about refusing to waive, he will stay in OKC throughout the rest of the season.
As recently as Monday, there were reports indicating that the Miami Heat were interested in Gallinari and that the Atlanta Hawks “have had talks” with the Thunder about Steven Adams.
A best-case scenario for Oklahoma City, as noted by Kellen Becoats of Forbes, is that “OKC sells off some of its assets—Danilo Gallinari chief among them—to get a bright young player to bolster Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s abilities”.
Because Oklahoma City is pretty much guaranteed a postseason spot regardless of what they do, it would make sense for Presti to move some of their bigger pieces. Not just from a playing perspective, but also a financial one.
Steven Adams is owed $55.2 million over the next two seasons while Danilo Gallinari is making $22.6 million in the final year of his current contract.
Nick Crain of Forbes points out that “trading some of these larger contracts could get them (Oklahoma City) below the luxury tax line and open up cap space for free agency this summer”.
Presti has built a reputation as pragmatic GM. He’s not afraid to make significant moves, but he’s not prepared to jeopardize the future of the franchise.
The question for Presti himself is, if he does decide to commit to a rebuild, will he be in Oklahoma City long enough to see it come to fruition?
He’s been reported to be a top candidate for the Knicks front office and with James Dolan firing team president Steve Mills on Tuesday, Presti may find himself being courted by the Knicks if Dolan can’t lure Masai Ujiri away from the Raptors.