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The Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti is the biggest reason this team remains in dynasty conversations, even after falling in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals during the 2025-26 NBA season. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the engine that makes everything go on the court, Presti is the architect behind it all.
Without Presti, this team likely isn’t anything special, and that may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. History is filled with incredibly talented rosters that never turned into multiple championships simply because of poor front-office decisions.
In the Thunder’s case, Presti has built a championship-caliber organization and recently pulled off a masterclass when he recognized the difficult financial situation the Denver Nuggets were facing.
With only roughly $3.9 million in flexibility to operate with, Presti created a trap by targeting Nuggets 25-year-old breakout player Spencer Jones. Presti offered Jones a two-year, $12 million contract, worth $6 million annually.
Essentially, Presti forced Denver into an impossible decision: either allow Jones to leave for Oklahoma City with little resistance or match the offer and push themselves into the dreaded second apron.
If the Nuggets matched, they would officially enter the second apron, triggering massive financial penalties and limiting their ability to build around their core. Those luxury tax penalties forced Denver into an additional $32 million in costs, all stemming from Presti’s strategic maneuvering behind the scenes.
Now, the Nuggets find themselves in a difficult position. The situation has become so serious that team president Josh Kroenke brought up a nightmare scenario unprompted: the possibility of eventually trading three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
"For us, as an organization, going into that second apron is not necessarily something that we're scared of," Kroenke said. "I think there are rules around it that we need to be very careful of with our injury history. The wrong person gets injured, and very quickly, you're in the scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that's trading No. 15 [Jokic]. We're very conscious of that pushing forward."
Obviously, it would take an extreme set of circumstances for that to actually happen. Jokic is one of the greatest players in NBA history, and Denver would do everything possible to avoid reaching that point.
However, because of the restrictions created by the second apron, it becomes a real possibility if things go wrong quickly in Denver.
This is why Presti continues to separate himself. His ability to think several moves ahead has put Oklahoma City in a position to sustain success, while simultaneously creating pressure on one of the NBA’s best teams.
Continue reading...
Without Presti, this team likely isn’t anything special, and that may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. History is filled with incredibly talented rosters that never turned into multiple championships simply because of poor front-office decisions.
In the Thunder’s case, Presti has built a championship-caliber organization and recently pulled off a masterclass when he recognized the difficult financial situation the Denver Nuggets were facing.
With only roughly $3.9 million in flexibility to operate with, Presti created a trap by targeting Nuggets 25-year-old breakout player Spencer Jones. Presti offered Jones a two-year, $12 million contract, worth $6 million annually.
Essentially, Presti forced Denver into an impossible decision: either allow Jones to leave for Oklahoma City with little resistance or match the offer and push themselves into the dreaded second apron.
If the Nuggets matched, they would officially enter the second apron, triggering massive financial penalties and limiting their ability to build around their core. Those luxury tax penalties forced Denver into an additional $32 million in costs, all stemming from Presti’s strategic maneuvering behind the scenes.
Now, the Nuggets find themselves in a difficult position. The situation has become so serious that team president Josh Kroenke brought up a nightmare scenario unprompted: the possibility of eventually trading three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
"For us, as an organization, going into that second apron is not necessarily something that we're scared of," Kroenke said. "I think there are rules around it that we need to be very careful of with our injury history. The wrong person gets injured, and very quickly, you're in the scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that's trading No. 15 [Jokic]. We're very conscious of that pushing forward."
Obviously, it would take an extreme set of circumstances for that to actually happen. Jokic is one of the greatest players in NBA history, and Denver would do everything possible to avoid reaching that point.
However, because of the restrictions created by the second apron, it becomes a real possibility if things go wrong quickly in Denver.
This is why Presti continues to separate himself. His ability to think several moves ahead has put Oklahoma City in a position to sustain success, while simultaneously creating pressure on one of the NBA’s best teams.
Continue reading...
