Sam Presti says there are 3 ways to build contender: 'Build, modify, assemble'

USA Today

10 hours ago

Winning an NBA championship comes with a tax. Just a couple of days into free agency, you've seen other teams attempt to copy the Oklahoma City Thunder's blueprint. Besides three NBA Finals games, they relied on their double-big duo of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in their starting lineup.
The Houston Rockets have been the biggest copycats. They added Clint Capela to pair with Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams. That trio beefs up their frontcourt. Adams and Capela are two of the best rebounders. Look at the rebound numbers over the last decade and they're probably near the top.
But what the Thunder have that most teams don't is homegrown talent. You can't buy that in July. Jalen Williams and Holmgren headlined one of the best draft hauls in 2022. Even though he's not technically homegrown, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander developed into an MVP winner in OKC.
Lu Dort was undrafted. Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins were steals at their slots. Kenrich Williams and Isaiah Joe were bargains that were misused at their previous stops. The Thunder grew everything from the ground up. Their only outside additions in Hartenstein and Alex Caruso were home-run hires.
The Rockets are the perfect juxtaposition to the Thunder. Both franchises started their rebuilds at similar times. But you've seen Houston take the opposite approach. After failing to develop their four top-four draft picks into some of the NBA's best players, they've abandoned the traditional route and have gone superstar hunting. That landed them Kevin Durant.
Now, the Rockets are viewed as one of the Thunder's biggest threats for their repeat chances. Houston's pivot shows there are multiple ways to build up a powerhouse.
When asked about the Thunder's roster construction, Sam Presti said we shouldn't be prisoners of the moment at his 2024-25 end-of-season press conference. There are several routes to reach the title town destination. What OKC did shouldn't be the only blueprint other teams copy. He sees three ways.
"To me, there's kind of three ways in the league. You can assemble teams. You can inherit and modify a team. Or you can build a team. So I think there's three kind of modes: Build, modify, assemble," Presti said. "How you do that or the way in which you do that, I think, is very contextual. For us, building is probably our best path here."
The Thunder don't have the same luxuries as Los Angeles, New York or Miami. Players won't beg their agents to get them to one of those cities. Small-market teams like OKC have to rely on the draft-and-develop approach, with the occasional smart trade sprinkled in.
"Because of that, we don't have a lot of time to determine, well, which way should we go. The paradox of choice is not really in our vantage point. So I think that helped us, or helps us," Presti said. "We kind of know what our circle of competence is, and we try to really lean into that."