Sam Presti has spent years stockpiling assets like a hoarder with a 401k plan. Draft picks, cap flexibility, trade exceptions. The Oklahoma City Thunder have more financial rope than any team in the league. And after losing Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to the Spurs in 2026, the obvious question was whether they’d finally pull the trigger on a move that pushed them over the top.
They didn’t.
The Thunder chose continuity over aggression this summer. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with trusting a core that won a championship two seasons ago, the Spurs series exposed a real weakness — one that hasn’t been fixed.
Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins Are Gone
Let’s start with the subtractions. Oklahoma City traded Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins in separate deals, both designed to keep the books clean under the new second apron rules. Joe is a knockdown shooter who can heat up in a hurry. Wiggins is the kind of versatile wing who does all the little things in playoff games.
The Thunder got draft picks back. Fine. But those two guys combined for nearly 20 points a night off the bench in the regular season and played real minutes in tight postseason games. Replacing that production with rookies and a guy coming off a knee injury is a gamble. Not a bad gamble necessarily. Just one with no immediate payoff.
This is where Presti’s patience starts looking less like discipline and more like risk.
The Isolation Scorer Problem
Against San Antonio, teams loaded up on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and dared anyone else to beat them. Jalen Williams is great, but he’s not a pure iso scorer yet. Chet Holmgren is a unicorn, but he’s not someone you can hand the ball to with eight seconds left on the shot clock and ask him to create.
There were guys available this summer who could have filled that exact role. DeMar DeRozan is the obvious name. Love him or hate his style, the guy can get a bucket in a phone booth. The Thunder had the assets to get a deal done. They chose not to.
Instead, Oklahoma City is betting on Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, and Nikola Topić to fill the gaps. Mara has real size and passing feel. Stirtz runs an offense like a ten-year veteran. Topić might be the best guard prospect in the draft class. But rookie minutes in April are different than rookie minutes in October.
Asset Management Has a Shelf Life
At some point, the pile of unspent draft picks has to turn into players who help you win now. The Thunder own a dozen first-rounders over the next seven years. Presti could package them for almost anyone. He’s chosen not to.
That approach built a champion. Nobody is arguing that. But the Western Conference is getting meaner. The Spurs added more veteran pieces. The Timberwolves aren’t going anywhere. Houston is lurking with young talent and cap space. Standing still in this environment carries its own cost.
The Thunder are still a top-three team in the West. They still have SGA, Holmgren, and Williams. They’re still legitimate contenders. But if they find themselves in another Game 7 next spring, searching for a bucket and coming up empty, this offseason will be the one they look back on and wonder what if.
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