The Thunder Blueprint: The Details That Rebuilt A Contender

The Thunder Blueprint: The Details That Rebuilt A Contender

remember this shot and give Shay Gilchers Alexander credit as Devonte sends it and gets it Gets it Truly one of the insane moments in Thunder history and really any NBA game Well what if I told you it actually had something to do with Chad Homegrren okay I’m not following Okay so stay with me here If the Thunder win that game they finish with 25 wins instead of 24 tied with the Indiana Pacers for the fourth worst record in the league for the 2021-22 season And now a coin flip for lottery odds decides who gets it The Thunder would possibly go from a 12.8% chance at the number two pick to a 10.5% chance The way it worked out the Pacers got the sixth pick They became Benedict Mathan and the Thunder got the second pick and selected Chad Homegrren That’s how it goes in the NBA A single thread can branch off into a thousand what-ifs with luck and strategy dancing around each other in perpetuity And now what we see is the Thunder have assembled a layered roster of versatility talent and depth It’s probably the most well-rounded roster in the entire NBA along with being maybe the most skilled and also probably the deepest They are a true two-way team built to bend to any matchup or situation So how how did they do that how did a team like this come together how did one of the most dominant teams in NBA history a 68- win juggernaut that set historic marks on double-digit victories and net margin of victory come together and not just that but come together so fast Well here is the Thunder Blueprint Let’s review three words Reposition replenish rebuild Those are really good alliterations No I don’t want to talk about aliteration Sam Prey introduced those themes in 2019 As I said before the primary focus for our organization based on the circumstances that we um inherited this summer is first we need to reposition the franchise Uh second to that we need to replenish the franchise after 11 years of um you know not ever being able to do that because we were in such a pursuit for uh maintaining a team that could that could get to the postseason and contend in the postseason year after year after year And then ultimately you know we we will just like every team in the NBA or in pro sports ultimately have to to rebuild the team But that that tends to happen organically Um I I can’t sit here and tell you um like when that process will will enact itself Um only that our vantage point and our view is always going to be to create the most and longest runway for success um and not to shortcut that and that our decisions um from this point on are going to be based on generating as much value for the organization as possible so that we at um some point can recreate an elongated period of success like we’ve been fortunate to have That was days after two massive trades First Paul George whose acquisition is its own wild story by the way but Paul George went to the Clippers a seismic move that rattled the foundation of the NBA which led to OKC then trading Russell Westbrook and don’t forget Jeremy Grant creating a franchise pivot point after having competed at the top of the West for more than a decade with one of the best records in the NBA four conference finals appearances and a finals appearance in 2012 and playoff births in 11 of the 16 years since the team had relocated Adams gives it back to Russ Deep shot Get it What a perfect ending choice But the clock was already ticking on the first mountain of the team But with two AllNBA players signed on long-term deals the Thunder were ready to run it back for at least one more shot But PG’s trade requests accelerated all of that and within it presented a rare opportunity to capitalize on something The Clippers were in the mix for Kawhi Leonard in free agency and were eyeing a sweetener to sell him on pairing with PG And the Thunder seized on that essentially presenting their offer as a trade not just for Paul George but for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard So in the end OKC received Shay Gildus Alexander Danilo Gallalinari and five first round picks a record for first rounders in a single trade plus a couple of first round pick swaps In retrospect this obviously is one of the all-time great trades in NBA history but beyond that it also was jet fuel to kickstart repositioning replenishing and rebuilding Most people fixated on the draft hall the Thunder got which was historic But now as we can all see getting that young 20-year-old guard out of Kentucky ended up being the prize of it all Two weeks after that OKC traded Westbrook to Houston for Chris Paul and more picks In total from the three deals eight first round picks over the next seven seasons plus four pick swaps plus SGA plus Denilo Gallinari plus CP3 reposition To most this was all viewed as the beginning of OKC’s inevitable tearown But with a revitalized CP3 the Thunder were one of the league’s surprises winning 44 games and sitting fourth in the Western Conference before the NBA and the world shut down for the pandemic Tonight has been postponed You are all set And before that season started the Thunder signed an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State to a two-way deal named Lugans Dort Dort played in 36 games as a rookie and quickly became a fan favorite earning a full NBA contract And Minnesota turns it over It’ll be Thunder Basketball with 14 seconds left as Dort in his NBA debut And after the NBA restarted in the bubble OKC went to seven games with the Rockets nearly pulling the upset behind 30 in game seven from Dort OKC’s leading scoreer that season by the way It was SGA at 19 points per game But now it was time to fully reposition and more importantly replenish and it happened [Music] rapidly The first move went way under the radar especially with the mega trade that was coming soon But it was the Thunder hiring a complete unknown as their head coach Mark Dnalt He was the organization’s G-League coach having been in charge of the OKC blue since 2014 and joined Billy Donovan’s staff as an assistant in 2019 Then the next step a week later moving Chris Paul in November to the Suns along with Abdul Nater in exchange for Ty Jerome Ricky Rubio Jaylen Lechu Kelly Ubé and a 2022 first round pick We’ll come back to that one The Thunder were building a true war chest of draft capitals stocked with first and second rounders Next move trading Dennis Shruder to the Lakers for Danny Green and the number 28 pick in the draft This was a move that became a move with OKC dealing Green Terren Ferguson and recently acquired Vincent Porier to the 76ers for Al Horford the number 34 pick which became Teo Maladon and the rights to Vicilier Meeich and a 2025 first round pick which was top six protected We’ll check back on that one in here in a little bit The suspense is killing me Horford was a bad fit in Philly alongside Joel Embiid and had minimal trade value but OKC was a perfect landing spot and had a reputation for rehabilitating former stars just as they had done with Chris Paul recently A few days later in a three-team deal OKC sent Steven Adams to the Pelicans And at the time the headline of it was the Thunder getting a protected first in two future picks along with players to make the salaries work like Darius Miller and George Hill plus a supposed throwin filler named Kenrich Williams who in the woge bomb didn’t even make it into the story Where is he where is he all in all before the 202021 season Prey and the Thunder executed 11 trades with 15 teams marking the most activity for a team in a single off season since the advent of the NBA draft lottery in 1985 So now on the roster SGA Lou Dort Kenrich Williams the three longest tenur players and the founding fathers of this refreshed era of Thunder Basketball The upcoming season was a tough one with no fans in the home arena and a 22 and 50 record But a major element of this season was handing the keys to the car to SGA and seeing what the Thunder might have as a lead guard because again he was the team’s leading scorer the season before on a playoff team mind you Points and there is that smooth move from Kilus Alexander At one point that season the Thunder were actually 19 and 24 behind the combo of SGA and Horford with some great moments like Dort hitting this gamewinner It’s good And Lou Dort ends it But after an injury to SGA OKC pivoted the season and set their eyes on the draft All right we’re back with some breaking news Wo is just tweeting minutes ago just tweeting this The Celtics are trading Kemba Walker a month before the draft OKC traded Horford to Boston for Kimba Walker a 2021 firstrounder and a 2025 second rounder So quick recap there OKC got a firstrounder and a second rounder to take Horford plus Meech who will factor in later and then got another firstrounder and another second rounder when they traded him to Boston So for Al Horford two firsts two seconds Good business Yeah we all love Sam The draft lottery that year was one of the biggest most anticipated nights of the year for OKC In a draft loaded with talon at the top and seen as a fiveplayer lottery OKC had an 11.5% chance at the number one pick But thanks to the trade with Houston for Westbrook which gave the Thunder a top four protected pick OKC actually had a 25% chance at two top five picks and a 75% chance of landing at least one top five pick The lottery drew Houston at number two meaning they got to keep their pick though And the Thunder who were most likely to land at four were drawn at number six OKC took Josh Giddy sixth overall missing out on Kate Cunningham Jaylen Green Evan Mobley Jaylen Suggs and Scotty Barnes We don’t need him Then the Thunder took Trey Man with the 18th pick a pick acquired in the PG trade OKC also had the 16th overall pick which became Alper and Shenon but traded it to Houston for two future first round So Sam Prey and the Thunder continue to collect first round assets as Shangun is now going to Houston Oh and remember how the Thunder had Kelly Ubé for like a brief second well they traded him before the season to the Warriors for a top 20 protected firstrounder that would become two second rounders if it didn’t convey Well it didn’t convey after the Warriors had a terrible injuryfilled season And that second rounder became the 55th overall pick which became Aaron Wiggins who by the way originally started on a two-way contract You have saved our lives We are eternally grateful So now SGA Dort Kenrich Giddy and Wigs replenish The Thunder’s big summer move was signing SGA to a 5-year max extension There was still a lot of chatter at this time if you remember about if SGA was really a franchise level player but the Thunder clearly believed in him OKC rounded out that season 24 and 58 finishing the last few games playing a lot of players that spent time with the blue that season Captain Hook Xavier Simpson Jaylen Horde and Euros Khaled Zakus And another one Lindy Waters who was signed earlier that season to a two-way contract after a G-League try out So let’s go back to that Devonte Graham shot It was now lottery time and the pingpong gods blessed OKC with the number two overall pick which became of course CE The Oklahoma City Thunder select Cet Homegrren from Gonzaga Thunder then traded three first rounders two of which they got from Houston for Shenun which were both heavily protected picks by the way to get the number 11 pick from the Knicks which became Usuzman Jen Then with the 12th pick which the Thunder owned via the Clippers and again the PG trade it just keeps on giving They took Jaylen Williams out of Santa Clara And then with the 34th pick they took Jaylen Williams out of Arkansas SGA Dort Kenrich Giddy Wigs Cadet Ooze Dub Jill Now rebuild On October 13 2022 the 76ers waved Isaiah Joe a 2020 second round pick With a roster spot available and still looking to acquire talent and explore options OKC signed Isaiah Joe to a multi-year deal right before the season started That summer Cadet broke a bone in his foot and was ruled out the entire season Obviously a major blow to the Thunder but it did do two things It gave a lot of opportunity to Jaylen Williams Jay Will to play and develop And secondly it pushed OKC into extended small ball with Kenrich Williams starting a lot of games as the Thunder’s center OKC traded Mike Mscala to Boston and landed a 2023 second rounder and a 2029 second rounder They also sent Darius Basley to Phoenix for Dario Sarich and a 2029 second rounder OKC finished the season a surprising 40 and 42 and was the 10th seed in the west earning a spot in the playin tournament beating the Pelicans on the road before falling to the Timberwolves So now having missed out on the playoffs the Thunder were back in the lottery and with the 12th overall pick OKC moved up to take Kase Wallace at number 10 and also acquired Davis Bertans in the deal The Thunder signed Meech one of Europe’s best players to come over and join the NBA as well So now on the roster it’s SGA Dort Kenrich Wigs Giddy Chat Ooze Dub Jill Ijo and Queso OKC signed Adam Flaggler to a two-way deal And then at the trade deadline with the Thunder sitting first in the Western Conference they traded Trey Man Poku for Tons and Meich plus a couple second rounders to the Hornets for Gordon Hayward It was a deal that on the surface was to add some veteran depth to a team making a strong playoff push with a chance to do postseason damage but really it had a wider longerterm branch to it that was about to pay major dividends Because with Hayward on an expiring contract the Thunder created some 30 million in summer cap space with this move This will be important in a minute That’s called foreshadowing The Thunder had won 57 games and finished first in the West that season The youngest team to ever do that They swept their first round series the youngest team to ever advance in the playoffs by the way and lost in a six-game cage match against the Dallas Mavericks where the series actually finished tied in total points And an excavation in points After the dust settled a little bit the Thunder traded Josh Giddy who was a three-year starter to the Bulls for Alex Caruso But what has it been like coming back to the city and walking into into this building yeah it’s it’s been nice Um some good memories Obviously this is you know like you said where I started my professional career Um so many familiar faces You know the continuity of the organization has been great and I think that’ll really help me just you know ease back into it Um get to know the teammates The facility is still the same so I know where everything’s at Uh just really excited to be here And with the 12th pick in the draft via the Rockets and the Westbrook trade the Thunder selected Noola Topic But they weren’t done OKC also added the 26th overall pick which was Dylan Jones in a wild deal where they sent five second round picks because they have so many acquired from all those other deals And then they shuffled around a couple more second rounders which eventually sent Lindy Waters to the Warriors and netted them back AJ Mitchell Look like Mitchell that three wide open AJ Mitchell the rookie And then there was one more piece to add With that cap space created by the Hayward trade 30 million by the way the Thunder signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year deal and also resigned Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to extensions They signed Alex Ducas to a two-way deal before training camp Plus they added the mid-season edition of Brandon Carlson on a two-way after he’d signed a couple 10-day deals So now the roster built over a number of years through a flurry of different deals and opportunistic moves But here’s what I really want you to take away from this There are a lot of ways to build a great team Drafting trading free agency The Thunder did a little bit of all of that but so much of this team was organically assembled SJA was a nice lottery pick seen to be a good role player that blossomed into the MVP Lou Dort was an undrafted workhorse that developed into the premier 3 and D wing in the NBA JDub was at the back end of the lottery the 12th overall pick but popped as a player that would go in the top three now in a reddraft Isaiah Joe was a waiverwire castoff Kase Wallace the 10th overall pick Here’s Wallace goes He throws it down Jay Will and Wigs second rounders and on and on The Thunder hit on all of these guys But what they really hit on was their development What so many dismissed as seasons spent supposedly tanking The Thunder were secretly investing in the future of their roster exploring understanding evaluating developing Think about this There was only one player on this Thunder roster that came from a 20- win season from the Thunder Chat one dub came via the Clippers Kase came off of a 40- win season where OKC was in the playin Josh Giddy was the only other one but he was moved for Caruso So this wasn’t some multi-year process of acquiring top five picks year after year This was nailing things on the margins with elite scouting and identification and also elite player development process And oh by the way the Thunder still have 13 first rounders and 16 second rounders along with four more first round pick swaps running through the 2031 draft They already have the number 15 pick in this upcoming draft from the Heat via the Clippers Yet another one from the Paul George trade And that Philly pick they got in the Horford deal Well it was top six protected and it didn’t convey this season but it becomes top four protected next season So there’s a very good chance OKC will land it somewhere again for taking on Al Horford which they then traded him to Boston for more picks This team is still one of the youngest in the league with its own upside but also it still has that war chest of draft capital to support it going forward So there’s your Thunder Rebuild blueprint going from the first mountain of KD and Rust and Russ and PG to now SGA and Dub and Cadet and everybody else with so much more to come four years and only two seasons without postseason basketball to completely reposition replenish and rebuild That would be hard to even do on NBA 2K [Music] [Music]

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, and LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Some of the greatest players and teams in NBA history all of whom won a championship over the course of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s rebuild, led by Sam Presti.

Now, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and the company are set to face their biggest challenge yet, the NBA finals, and have a chance to make their own mark in basketball history.

Such an unprecedented team put together in a historic rebuild that was orchestrated by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Sam Presti has already set records and is now on its way to the top of the mountain.

In this video essay, Royce Young breaks down where the Thunder started, and the process they took to reposition, replenish, and ultimately rebuild.

0:00 Remember This Shot?
2:00 Thunder’s Sam Presti in 2019
3:24 Thunder Trading Paul George and Russell Westbrook
4:30 The Thunder’s Rare Opportunity
5:30 The Chris Paul Factor
6:54 Replenishing The Thunder
9:30 The Growth of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
10:00 Thunder Continue To Trade And Collect Picks
10:36 The NBA Draft Lottery
12:00 The Kelly Oubre Effect
12:30 Presti and The Thudner Get More Picks
13:10 The OKC Thunder Get Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams
14:00 The Thunder Start Their Rebuild
16:35 The Thunder Add Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein
18:00 The Thunder Roster
19:00 The Thunder’s Development
20:38 The Next Mountain