3 times Sam Presti has fleeced another team in a trade

Trades Sam Presti absolutely won: 1. The Russell Westbrook-Chris Paul Trade

With Paul George dealt to the Clippers to start the 2019 offseason, the Thunder had committed to a rebuild, especially after a trade request from one of the greats of the franchise Russell Westbrook. 

With Westbrook interested in joining a contender such as the Rockets, Sam Presti did right by his star by sending him to Houston in exchange for Chris Paul, a top-4 protected 2021 first-round draft pick, a top-4 protected 2024 first-round draft pick, a top-20 protected 2025 first-round draft pick and a top-4 2026 first-round draft pick. 

Paul was coming off an injury-ridden season in which he struggled in the postseason and his multi-year max contract was seen as one of the worst in the league. 

Paul wasn’t expected to play a major role in Thunder’s upcoming season with OKC expected to rebuild. However, with the team failing to find a move Paul insisted on suiting up the Thunder.

The team would beat all the expectations with Paul at the forefront, making the All-Star and All-NBA second team along with finishing seventh in MVP voting. In the postseason, The Thunder would push the favored Rockets to seven games with Paul playing a key role down the stretch in each of the Thunder’s three wins. 

Within a season of being perceived as having an untradable contract, Chris Paul was traded to the Phoenix Suns for multiple tradable contracts and draft capital in the form of Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, and a 2022 first-round draft pick. Oubre and Rubio would be moved before the start of the next season, clearing the way for a Thunder rebuild.

While the 2021 top-4 protected pick from Houston did not convey, the Thunder still has extremely promising assets in the form of Houston’s future lightly (top-4) protected first-round picks in 2024 and 2026. The return so far may not been spectacular however considering it immediately produced one of Thunder’s most exciting seasons followed by a clean slate for a successful rebuild (so far), it was definitely a successful transaction.

Compare this with the Rockets’ situation who gave up significant draft capital in this trade. With Westbrook, the Rockets would completely embrace a small-ball setup, getting rid of starting center Clint Capela and acquiring Robert Covington in a mid-season trade.

There were flashes of the experiment working out however after Russell Westbrook's postseason woes following an injury, the Rockets were comfortably defeated in the second round of the playoffs. Both Westbrook and Harden would demand a trade at the end of the season, forcing the Rockets to rebuild despite having sent many of their draft picks to the Thunder.