Grading the 2019 NBA offseason for all 30 franchises

Oklahoma City Thunder

When most teams trade their two best players — a dynamic duo ranked near the top of the league — it sends them into a downward spiral for which there is little recovery.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder, such deals breathed new life into the organization and left them in good hands for the future.

Being essentially forced to trade Paul George was a sudden and unexpected situation Sam Presti had to deal with. Here was a guy who just one year ago put pen to paper on a new four-year deal.

Despite the request, OKC managed to obtain leverage and extract maximum value given the desperation of the Clippers.

The Thunder obtained a total of seven first-round picks — including two pick swaps — from LA along with Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gallo is coming off his best season as a pro on an expiring deal while many believe SGA to be a future All-Star at the point guard position.

OKC also managed a first-rounder from Denver in exchange for Jerami Grant.

Dealing Russell Westbrook came next, a much harder trade to make but one both sides had come to accept under the circumstances. Once again, Presti found himself opposite a team in a frenzy looking for any upgrade possible.

Taking on the remaining $120 million of Chris Paul’s deal is rough, but a small price to pay for another two first-rounders and two pick swaps.

OKC will now likely miss the playoffs for just the second time since coming over from Seattle and head into a rebuild. It was an unavoidable situation caused by forces out of the Thunder’s control, but one they ultimately made the best of to set themselves up nicely moving forward.

Grade: A-