OKC Thunder: Presti's Schroder Trade Reaps Major Rewards
The longest tenured general manager in the league, Sam Presti has made quite the name for himself in recent years.
As if drafting three MVP’s wasn’t enough, Presti has now gone into asset accumulation mode, acquiring an unprecedented amount of draft picks in hopes of contending a ways down the line.
There’s a long precursor to Oklahoma City acquiring Dennis Schroder, but we’ll start there for simplicities sake.
Schroder, after a solid couple of seasons, was eventually shipped off for what at the time seemed like a questionable couple of assets; the Lakers 2020 first round pick and Danny Green.
The Lakers pick was eventually used to acquire Ricky Rubio, who is an entirely different rabbit hole, and the Timberwolves 17th overall pick, which would be Aleksej Pokusevski.
Green was eventually dealt for Horford, as well as Philadelphia’s 2020 second round pick and a 2025 first round pick. Horford netted Celtics guard and the 16th pick in 2021, which netted two more future picks.
Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY SportsBrad Penner / USA TODAY Sports
Madness.
All-in-all, Presti deadline Dennis Schroder, who’s now looking for upwards of $20 million in free agency, in the final year of his deal helped Oklahoma City acquire Theo Maledon, trade up for Pokusevski, Kemba Walker and three first round picks.
Presti may very well be a madman, but there’s certainly a method.
READ MORE:
Free Agency Losers Could Scramble to Kemba Walker
Breaking Down OKC's Free Agency Philosophy
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