Is Presti a Genius?

[MrToad]

I hear this a lot. I agree that he's made some nice moves... the maynor trade being a good example. But on the whole, has he really done all that well?
2007 Draft
One has to give him credit for drafting Durant, but let's face it, that was a no-brainer. I'm pretty sure that if the Thunder had landed the #1 overall they would have picked Oden and KD would be in Portland.
He then trades for the #5 overall, and takes Jeff Green. Ray Allen goes to Boston along with pick #35, which they use to take Big Baby. The next five picks after Green are Yi Jianlian, Corey Brewer, Brandan Wright, Joakim Noah, and Spencer Hawes.
He then trades #31 to Houston for a 2008 2nd rounder and cash. Houston takes Carl Landry (wouldn't he fit in nicely?).
2008 Draft
With the #4 overall, Presti drafts Westbrook. The rest of the lottery as follows: Kevin Love, Danilo Gallinari, Eric Gordon, Joe Alexander, D.J. Augustin, and Brook Lopez.
At #24, he takes Ibaka.
He then trades #32 and #46 to pick up #29, D.J. White.
With #50, he takes DeVon Hardin
With #56, he takes Sasha Kaun and send him to Cleveland for cash.
2009 Draft
With #3, he takes James Harden. Rest of the lottery as follows: Tyreke Evans, Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry, Jordan Hill, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Jennings.
Trades #25 Rodrigue Beaubois for #24 BJ Mullens and a future 2nd rounder.
Purchases right to Robert Vaden for cash.
Other activities:
Trades for Thabo and Maynor. Signs Krstic.
Am I missing anything? What do you think? Genius at work, or nothing special, given the picks?

[slick_watts]

Sam Presti's drafting has been strange, that much is certain. The only pick I really have a problem with on any level, though, is the Russell Westbrook selection over Brook Lopez. Russ was a reach at that spot, and many felt that Lopez would have been a great fit. Russ is starting to turn a corner, so hopefully this point will be moot.

As for the other draft moves.. Jeff Green was regarded highly, of the players selected after him Joakhim Noah would have been nice but he wasn't a Top Five talent. I think Sam Presti might have been able to get more for Ray Allen, but I can understand why he made the trade at the time and there might have been extenuating circumstances (franchise relocation) that affected his decision making.

Carl Landry was passed over by every other team, nobody knew he'd be this good. That was dumb luck.

The selection of Serge Ibaka is looking like a nice one. Getting value from a low first rounder like that is tough, many Sonics fans panned Sam Presti (including myself) at the time he made this selection, and it turned out alright and might even get better down the road.

Other than those, there aren't really any controversial draft selections. Too early to tell with James Harden. Tyreke Evans has looked excellent, though..

I think Sam Presti's reputation comes from some of the trades he's made over the years. Trading nothing to the Suns for Kurt Thomas and two unprotected first round picks, then trading Kurt Thomas to the Spurs for another pick was the one sequence where he really made his bones. The Rashard Lewis sign and trade started that.

He's been able to manage the cap situation and has shown the ability to be patient. The deal for Thabo Sefolosha looks great, and the Nenad Krstic signing has paid off -- Krstic isn't great or anything but he's worth his salary.

I think the D.J. White selection will pan out and he will be a rotation player. The only reason I have any kind of positive thoughts about Byron Mullens is the fact that Sam Presti selected him.

This trade deadline and offseason will tell the tale of Sam Presti. His decisions during the next year to year and a half will shape the roster for good and we'll see whether or not the genius label is a valid one.

[HomieOmey]

Far from a genius, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for one more year. He still has a lot of cap space and trade assets to play around with.

The front court is pretty weak though, and that's why I have a hard time giving him too much credit when he passed on two solid guys. Passing on Lopez definitely confused me, but since the Nets had VC I was actually pretty happy about that - but for all the wrong reasons. I haven't been nearly as high on Green as most have the last few years either, but I still like his potential as a 6th man. I did like Noah though. I was actually eying Noah the year before when I thought Toronto might get him with their top 3 pick. I don't even think top 5 was a reach, as I was pretty surprised he fell so far.

[HomieOmey]

But yes, his ability to make trades has been incredible. He's made some great moves and even had Chandler for very little if he wanted. I think him and Bryan C have a lot in common as general managers. Luckily for Thunder fans, Presti seems a bit more patient, which has worked out well so far. The Raptors are now in a bit of a hole because Bryan tried to make the team grow up too fast.

[slick_watts]

But yes, his ability to make trades has been incredible. He's made some great moves and even had Chandler for very little if he wanted. I think him and Bryan C have a lot in common as general managers. Luckily for Thunder fans, Presti seems a bit more patient, which has worked out well so far. The Raptors are now in a bit of a hole because Bryan tried to make the team grow up too fast.

Some of that must be because of the respective markets. Toronto is a huge market, and they want a winner now. OKC is willing to be more patient for obvious reasons. It remains to be seen how long the honeymoon period lasts. Eventually, Sam Presti and the Thunder will be held to the same standards as other teams.

[Clangus]

You cannot really gauge a Gm's drafting based on who they passed on. There was no way of knowing Noah would be anything more than a rotation player. And Westbrook/lopez is still debateable.

What I think you are missing is that Presti recieved a team with no money to spend and a team with a heap of aging players, with a team re-location coming up. The genius part is how he turned that into cap space, great young talent, and draft picks. He got rid of dead weight like Watson, Wilkins, Ridnour, Wilcox and turned them into a team of hardworkers with great potential. Rashard wasn't worth close to what Orlando gave him and wasn't part of our plans moving forward, Ray was on the tail end of his Prime, and it was too late to build around him.

I think Presti is a genius, not because of his blockbuster trades/drafts. But because of the little touches that have turned this team into a competitive team with potential to challenge for a chip in a few years.