Sam Presti has been the General Manager of the Oklahoma City/Seattle franchise since June 7, 2007.
Here’s a look at the picks made by Sam Presti since he became general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics. The picks in 2007 and 2008 occurred before the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle.
I realize that many NBA draft choices are made with the idea that they will be traded to another team, that's why I've attempted to include where a player may have been traded and what the Thunder/Sonics received in exchange.
A perfect example of this would be Kobe Bryant. Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.
2007First round, 2nd pickKevin Durant, TexasIt’s strange to think about what might have been if the Portland Trailblazers had selected Durant with the first pick instead of Greg Oden. Durant has turned the franchise into a NBA title contender.
Second round, 31st pickCarl Landry, PurdueLandry was traded to the Houston Rockets for cash and a 2008 2nd round draft pick, which turned into Sasha Kaun.
Second round, 35th pickGlen Davis, LSUDavis was traded, along with Ray Allen, to the Boston Celtics for Jeff Green, Wally Szcerbiak, Delonte West and a 2008 2nd round pick.
2008 First round, 4th pickRussell Westbrook, UCLAThis pick worked out really well.
First round, 24th pickSerge IbakaAlso, this pick has worked out well, especially when you consider how much room Ibaka has room for improvement.
Second round, 32nd pickWalter SharpeSharpe was traded by the Sonics, along with Trent Plaisted to the Detroit Pistons for D.J. White. Sharpe was traded two more times, waived by Milwaukee in 2009 and Memphis in 2011.
Second round, picks 46, 50 and 56Trent Plaisted, DeVon Hardin and Sasha KaunPlaisted, listed at 6-11, along with Sharpe was traded to the Pistons on draft night. Plaisted has spent most of professional career in Europe.
Hardin (6-11) suffered a stress fracture and was unable to participate in training camp in 2008. Hardin’s draft rights were part of deal that could have brought Tyson Chandler to the Thunder in Feb. of 2009, but Chandler failed his physical with OKC.
The draft rights to Kaun, listed at 6-11, were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers but he signed a contract with Russian team CSKA Moscow in 2008.
2009First round, 3rd pickJames Harden, Arizona StatePart of NBA Finals run for the Thunder in 2011-2012. Harden was traded to Houston before the 2012-13 season. The trade involved Harden, Daequan Cook, Cole Aldrich and Lazar Hayward to the Rockets for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, a future 1st round draft pick, a future 1st round draft pick and a future 2nd round draft pick.
First round, 25th pickRodrique BeauboisTraded to Dallas Mavericks for Byron Mulles. Made debut in October, 2009 for Dallas Mavericks.
2010First round, 18th pickEric Bledsoe, KentuckyTraded by the Thunder to the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2012 1st round pick. That 2012 1st round pick (No. 22) was part of the trade with the Boston Celtics in 2011 that sent Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, the 2012 pick and cash to the Celtics for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.
First round, 21st pickCraig Brackins, Iowa StateBrackins was traded by the Thunder to the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans for Cole Aldrich and Morris Peterson. Aldrich, from Kansas, was part of the Harden-Rockets deal in 2012. Peterson played four games for OKC, at age 33, before being traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Nazr Mohammed on Feb. 24, 2011.
First round, 21st pickQuincy Pondexter, WashingtonPondexter, along with Brackins, was traded by the Thunder to the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans for Cole Aldrich and Morris Peterson. Pondexter was traded again Dec. 24, 2011 to the Memphis Grizzlies for Greivis Vazquez.
Second round, 51st overall pickMagnum Rolle, LSURolle was traded to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers waived Rolle at the end of training camp that year.
2011First round, 28th pickReggie Jackson, Boston CollegeJackson played significant minutes for the Thunder this past season, especially after Russell Westbrook went down with an injury in the playoffs. Jackson started nine games for the Thunder, averaging 13.9 points per game. Jackson is signed through the 2014-15 season.
2012First round, 28th pickPerry Jones, BaylorJones spent most of the season playing in Tulsa with the 66ers. Jones is signed through the 2015-16 season.
2013First round, 12th pickSteven Adams, PittsburghHaving talent on the roster allows OKC to make this kind of pick. Adams, from New Zealand, isn’t needed to produce right away with Perkins and Hasheem Thabeet considered adequate centers for the Thunder.
Adams is considered a project by many NBA scouts, but he’s athletic enough to be an efficient center down the road. More than likely, Adams could get the Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones treatment with lots of time in Tulsa.
First round, 26th pickAndre Roberson, ColoradoRoberson is athletic, limited offensively but a good rebounder and defender. Could give the Thunder some flexibility with the second unit.
Second round, 32nd pickAlex Abrines, SpainAbrines is expected to stay in Europe for now.
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