Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 takeaways from the 2019 offseason

Thunder now have the best collection of future assets in the NBA

First-round picks are the currency of the NBA. They represent possibility and hope while not having a salary tied to them. In any major trade in the NBA teams always look to acquire picks.

The New Orleans Pelicans snagged three of them in the Anthony Davis trade alone — along with multiple pick swaps.

For the next seven years no team is richer in picks than the Oklahoma City Thunder. Through the Paul George, Jerami Grant and Russell Westbrook trades Oklahoma City collected eight (8!!!!) first-round picks along with the rights to swap four other picks.

Not only did Sam Presti secure the mother lode of draft picks, he also pushed the selections as far back as he could.

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Logically the Thunder didn’t want the Clippers 2020 first-round pick in the Paul George swap. There is a good chance LA may have a top-three record in the NBA next season, making their pick fall between 27-30. Instead Oklahoma City wanted picks farther down the line.

While the Clippers — and the Houston Rockets, for that matter — look formidable now, the NBA changes quickly. The contracts George and Kawhi Leonard expire in 2021. By 2024 Westbrook will be 35 years old. The Rockets and LA still might be solid playoff teams by that point.

They could also be among of the worst teams in the league.

The Thunder don’t have to make all those selections with the picks, either. Again, the currency of the NBA is first-round draft picks. Every team wants them. They hold immense value.

When the next star wants to be traded (it happens every year) his team’s first phone call should be to Sam Presti. No GM in the league can offer a better trade package than the Thunder.

The past decade of Thunder basketball had a foundation in the draft. The next era might as well, but with the greatest collection of assets in the league Oklahoma City has limitless options.