Thunder Continue to Groom Future General Managers

Sam Presti's success has other teams looking to sang front office personnel from Oklahoma City.

Championship or not, the Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the most successful organizations in the NBA. From 2010-2019, the Thunder own the seventh-best winning percentage across the four major team sports in America.   

Pretty heady stuff for a franchise that is only 12 years old; It's that kind of success that has Sam Presti cranking out more general managers over the past decade than any other team in the league except the Spurs. This week, Troy Weaver became the fourth person from the Thunder's front office to accept a GM position with another organization.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski, Weaver agreed to a four-year deal to run the Detroit Pistons. He joins Rich Cho, Rob Hennigan and Michael Winger as graduates of the Presti school of executive arts. 

The NBA has set the transaction window for its 30 teams: June 23 (12 pm ET) to June 30 (11:59 pm ET), sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 20, 2020

Cho is currently the Vice President of basketball strategy for the Grizzlies, Winger is in his third season as the Clippers GM, and after five years with the Magic, Hennigan is back in Oklahoma City. While Cho bounced around after his departure and Hennigan piloted the worst stretch in Orlando's history, anyone who has learned under Presti will be coveted by other franchises. 

Presti's ability to keep one of the NBA's smallest market's relevant as it has been left for dead since 2016, makes him a hot item every time there is an opening. In the past few months, he has been linked to jobs in New York and Chicago.   

Source: Free agency opens on October 18 still, with moratorium period on deals October 19-23.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2020

Presti will eventually leave the Thunder, but it won't be any time soon. He is in complete control of all personnel decisions, and Clay Bennett can trust that Presti will not only be responsible fiscally but image-wise as well.  

In 12 seasons, there has never been a major scandal, and whatever bad decisions you make (drafting Mitch McGary, signing Ronnie Price, and yes, trading James Harden) can be left out of the big market spotlight. The media is more than friendly to Presti, and that's not something he will give up easily. 

Whatever success or failures come from his understudies, there will always be some looking to get a taste of Presti's wizardry.