Why OKC Should Thank Rashard Lewis for Its Current Success
The Path to the Rebuild
Make no mistake, Thunder GM Sam Presti is a genius in his own right. His days from the San Antonio Spurs have brought him the strong reputation of being a genius – playing a huge role in pushing the team to bring in one of its legendary stars in Tony Parker. The French guard would go on to play 18 seasons in the NBA, where he made it to a total of six All-Star teams and clinched four championships.
With the Spurs, Presti already played a part in player acquisition, later winning with the 2003, 2005, and 2007 championship teams – which included five division titles. Parker, in his retirement ceremony, even credited Presti for bringing him in into San Antonio.
“Sam, I know you’re in the arena,” Parker said Monday, illuminated by a spotlight in the middle of the court. “Man, you and R.C. (Buford, former Spurs general manager and current CEO), you were ahead of your time. You took a gamble on me, because I was terrible in my first workout with the Spurs. Man, I was terrible.”
So why are we bringing this up? Surely the answer lies within Paul George – who was actually the trade piece that allowed OKC to come up with the treasure trove of picks that it would hold up until the 2029 season – securing OKC for the present and the future. However, we also need to acknowledge that it was the genius of Sam Presti that allowed this new generation of the Thunder to happen in the first place.
But to answer the question, no. Paul George isn’t really the answer – the one OKC fans should thank for this very possibility. It goes a long way back to the early days of Oklahoma City, long before there was even an NBA team in Oklahoma, back when the franchise was still the Seattle Supersonics.
Tracing the Next Generation Thunder’s Roots
Dating all the way back to 2007 NBA Draft, Sam Presti made the move to sign and then trade Rashard Lewis to the Orlando Magic, which included a second-round pick from the team and a $9 million trade exception from the Phoenix Suns. This materialized into Kurt Thomas, and the Suns’ 2008 and 2010 picks in the first round.
The 2008 1st rounder would go on to become Serge Ibaka, one of the Thunder’s fan favorites over the years and was known well to be the team’s defensive anchor. After the tough finish in the 2016 Western Conference Finals where the Thunder ended up losing a 3-1 series lead, Presti kickstarted the rebuild phase for OKC – albeit in a lowkey way.
That’s when Ibaka was traded to the Orlando Magic, bringing in Victor Oladipo in exchange along with Ersan Ilyasova and the 11th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft – who would turn out to be Domantas Sabonis. Two years later, the Presti lured and brought in one of the league’s biggest stars in Paul George, this time in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Oklahoma City Thunder Rebuild Timetable
George would go on to come up with two runs with the Thunder, paired with Russell Westbrook. Those two straight first-round exits would then further close in for the rebuild phase of the Thunder, in which Paul George was traded for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danillo Gallinari, five first-round picks and two swap rights to two other first-rounders.
After missing out in the playoffs in 2021 and 2022, OKC would compete in the Play-In Tournament in 2023, and then later finish as the first seed in 2024 and 2025. On top of that, both Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams would then become bonafide All-Stars by 2025, not to mention that SGA went on to win the MVP award in the same year. Jalen Wiliams was a massive steal for OKC, and he became a star in just three seasons with the Thunder, showing how valuable not just the Paul George trade but the Rashard Lewis trade was.
What’s Left for OKC?
While the Thunder have managed to come up with the promising acquisitions outside of the Rashard Lewis trade, it also has basically secured OKC’s future all the way to 2031, and let’s not forget that there are other transactions that Sam Presti has pulled off, such as the trade for Russell Westbrook, the trade for Chris Paul, and even the lowkey trades as well.
To sum it up, here’s what the future draft capital looks like for the Thunder coming off the Rashard Lewis trade – showing how the transaction moves made by Presti in 2007 are still actually helping the Thunder secure its present and future – all thanks to impressive asset management by the team and the inevitable high level of competitive play that it has seen over the years.
OKC Draft Capital from the 2007 Rashard Lewis Trade (2025-2031)
Year
Round/Pick
Protections
2025
1st Round Pick Swap
Non-Protected
2026
1st Round
Least Favorable Conveys to Philadelphia
2027
1st Round Pick Swap
Non-Protected
2029
2nd Round (via Miami)
N/A
2030
2nd Round (via Miami)
N/A
Based on this data, there’s at least five more potential acquisitions that OKC can come up with just from the NBA Draft. Let’s not forget that the Thunder has a genius of a GM in Presti, who can even turn these picks into something more in the future. Considering how it turns up for OKC, we can actually expect to see more from the Thunder to actually make the most of these selections, which says a lot about the way the future has been laid for the team.
Giving Credit Where it is Due
At the end of the day, we can always thank Sam Presti for being the genius that he is for actually fulfilling the future for the Thunder. It would not have been possible to actually see either Gilgeous-Alexander or even Williams in a Thunder uniform had it not been for Presti. But that’s just him being good at his job, and he deserves a lot of praise for it.
Thanking Paul George and the Clippers management is an understatement. The Thunder should also be paying homage to Serge Ibaka not just for his contributions with OKC, but also for his massive value that actually allowed the Thunder to pull off the biggest acquisitions that no one expected.
Even so, if we are thanking the players for their contributions, then maybe Sonics legend Rashard Lewis also deserves a lot of credit for being the kickstarter of this trade thread overall.
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