Thunder End of Year Report Card: Sam Presti

OKC's general manager proved once again in 2022-23 that he is one of the top front office executives in the league.

Despite two lackluster seasons leading up to Oklahoma City's first postseason berth since 2019-20, Thunder fans remained faithful in OKC General Manager Sam Presti. Presti already built a championship-level roster once in the Modern Frontier, and the NBA's longest active tenured GM reassured Oklahoma City fans that he had a plan to return the team to its former glory.

In 2022-23, Presti's hard work paid off, as the team exceeded expectations, garnering praise from media members around the NBA. After a 40-42 season, the Thunder look primed to take another step forward in 2023 behind the suave maneuvers of their general manager.

Overall Grade: A

Chris Landsberger / The Oklahoman

One of Presti's most important skills is his ability to identify talent in the NBA Draft. In 2022, OKC's GM selected Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams in addition to trading multiple future picks for the rights to Ousmane Dieng. 

After one season, Oklahoma City knows that it has found a franchise cornerstone and a solid rotational player with two of these four rookies. Jalen Williams will likely earn NBA First Team All-Rookie honors, already being named a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award. 

The Santa Clara product averaged a remarkable 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 52% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range. Jaylin Williams, a second-round pick, started 36 games for the Thunder down the stretch.

While Ousmane Dieng did not see the same amount of playing time as his rookie counterparts from Arkansas and Santa Clara, the organization expected Dieng to have more of a learning curve. The 19-year-old French wing was seen as a raw talent during the draft process but did showcase impressive flashes during his first year in Oklahoma City.

Dieng topped 15 points three times as a rookie, scoring a career-high 22 points in the season finale against Memphis. Presti's ability to spot these talented prospects and project their fit into OKC's lineup has helped fast-forward the Thunder's timeline.

This is all without mentioning the highest pick in Oklahoma City's draft history, former five-star big man Chet Holmgren. The Gonzaga product suffered a season-ending foot injury prior to his rookie year after an impressive Summer League showing.

If Holmgren ends up being the prospect that many believe he is capable of becoming, it will be another addition to an already outstanding draft class for OKC.

Another aspect of Presti's "A" grade were his moves at the trade deadline. The Thunder GM traded veteran big man Mike Muscala to the Boston Celtics and dished Darius Bazley to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Dario Saric.

In 20 games with the Thunder, Saric averaged 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 51.5% from the field. In his time with Oklahoma City this season, Muscala tallied 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, shooting 43.8% from the field.

In 2022-23, Presti showed once again that he is capable of making the correct roster moves to put OKC in the best positions to succeed. Whether it is at the trade deadline or on draft night, the Thunder GM knows how build a team.

Presti's teambuilding efforts in 2022-23 have earned him an "A" on his year-end report card.

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