For years and years, all he did was sit on his ass and go after washed up vets as buyouts. The Derek Fisher, Cameron Butler era. With the Westbrook-Durant-Ibaka core, it didn't hurt that much, but he still didn't make a single move to actually go for a title.
Then he started the "Let me overpay for trash and force it down the Thunder's throat" era. Overpaid for Waiters. Overpaid for Kanter. Overpaid for Grant. Overpaid for Schröder. Again and again and again, he wasted draft picks on guys that were not good players and did not deserve such a trade return. And once those guys were on the roster, they were heavily featured, no matter their skillset and general fit with the guys around them. They treated Waiters like he was a Top 5 guard. Kanter played minutes no matter how much he was killing the defense. Grant has played the 3, the 4 and the 5, simply out of desperation to find consistent minutes for him, regardless of his performance. And last season we got to enjoy the Dennis Schröder as SG season, which did not work at all, but hey: They promised Schröder starter minutes (he said so himself on German TV) and that's what he got, no matter wether it was working or not.
Hiring Donovan without even interviewing anybody else. Why? Because they were buddies prior to the hire. Due to this, we got to enjoy the Donovan era, aka the "He could literally faint and nobody would notice because it would not impact the team's performance at all" era. No offensive system besides featuring single guys heavily. Defensive schemes that fall off a cliff sooner or later. No idea on how to adjust to opposing teams. Two postseasons in a row the Thunder defended the opposing point guard the same way, not really bothering any one at all, even though one was Rubio, one was Lillard. Whne asked about it, Donovan simply said that the Thunder were "an over team".
In Kevin Durant's final season, the biggest season in franchise history, Presti proceeded to hire his buddy and as his great trade deadline, one last push, aquisition, he went after RANDY **** FOYE. No urgency. None whatsoever.
Andre Roberson injured himself in February 2018. Since then, the Thunder didn't aquire a single NBA level wing to make up for the loss. NOT A SINGLE **** ONE.
The Thunder have been a trash shooting team basically the entire time they have been in Oklahoma City. What does its GM have to say for himself?
I'd love for us to have more shooting. I think you look at the team and you say, well, on paper, if we look at these numbers, like this -- totally see that.
The Thunder keep going after raw athletes with no real basketball skills besides jumping. Why you say?
"We like serious basketball players, guys that are serious about the game,” Weaver said. “Guys that work hard. Guys that are good teammates. We can (figure out) all the other stuff, skillset and all that. Those three things are the main pillars.”
But wait, you say. Surely Presti has to see all this. Right?
Outsiders assumed Westbrook should be ringed by floor-spacing snipers, like Harden in Houston, but Presti demands evidence.
Since 2013, Presti has spent about 9 or 10 FRP in trades and in the draft. As of right now, Sabonis is far and away the best of those selections. As for the other ones, the only one with a positive NBA season so far is probably Grant in 18-19. That's it. Payne out of the league. McGary out of the league. Huestis out of the league. Ferguson starting while not being able to dribble as a guard. Waiters is still trash. Kanter still the very same player that always tanks his team's defense. Schröder just a way worse blend of Irving/Westbrook. Now he drafts this kid that went and made money instead of playing competitive basketball.
Apart from the Paul George trade, these are probably his best trades in 12 years:
Getting Perkins while freeing up minutes for Ibaka
And then it's probably the Payne for Gibson trade (which should have happened when they still had KD btw, but he rather went after Randy Foye). Honestly, I can't even come up with another good trade by him.
Here are his best FA signings:
1.Noel
2.Patterson
3.Morrow
4.Fisher
That's it as well.
I'm so tired of this. All of this is a direct result of general incompetence. He more or less lucked into the best draft core in NBA history and all he accomplished was **** things up. James Harden was traded in 2012 and 7 years later, we are still looking for a SG.
If the Thunder are about to tear it all down, the teardown needs to start with him.
Russ wasted four years of his prime for this. **** believable.
