Sam Amick: How OKC Thunder Successfully Pivoted Post-Durant-Harden-Westbrook

Sam Presti has built a championship roster out of names most casual NBA fans would not pick out of a lineup. The Athletic's Sam Amick came on the show and said even people who have covered him for 20 years cannot fully explain how he did it.

The names alone make the point. Aaron Wiggins. Cason Wallace. Isaiah Joe. A healthy Jalen Williams. Isaiah Hartenstein. Alex Caruso.

"These are not names that you would just off, with all due respect, say, that's a championship roster," Amick said. "But it sure as heck is."

Rich asked the actual question. Why is it so hard to copy?

"It's honestly hard to describe," Amick said. "It's hard to put your finger on. It's one of the most impressive things I've seen in 20 years covering the league. And I've known Sam a long time."

Amick was honest about what he would have said in the immediate post-Kevin Durant, post-Russell Westbrook era. He would not have given Presti a chance to pull this off again.

"If you would have told me a couple years ago in the post-Kevin Durant, post-Russell Westbrook time that he would find a way to pivot like this, I admittedly wouldn't have thought there was a chance in hell," Amick said. "Because to some degree, you felt like the first origin story of the Thunder drafting those future Hall of Famers in Kevin, Russ and James Harden, that there was an element of luck involved, and there's no way he could do it twice."

He cited the Paul George trade with the Clippers as the moment the second build began, and reminded the room that the trade was not celebrated in real time.

"By and large, if you go back and look at the receipts in the media, people celebrated the Clippers for getting Kawhi Leonard and Paul George," Amick said. "They did not celebrate OKC."

The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren outcomes are now obvious. The talent evaluation underneath is what Amick keeps coming back to.

"AJ Mitchell in the second round," Amick said. "They've got guys on the bench, Aaron Wiggins not even getting time that contributed big time to their title last year. It's a testament to the way they operate."

The bigger takeaway, for Amick, is what it says about the league narrative.

"It cuts into the narrative that the NBA is obviously a big-city league, and one where the small-market teams can't compete," Amick said. "They are out there in the middle of nowhere. I was just there last week getting reminded of what it's like on the dusty plains. And they have happy players who are fantastic players in a good environment and a good culture."

Rich pivoted to the head coach. Mark Daigneault. What is he up to?

Amick took the question back to Presti.

"It starts with Sam, and the fact that if you go back and look at the way Mark was elevated within their program," Amick said. "He coaches their G League team at first for a couple years, but he also is a mentee of Billy Donovan from the Florida days. It's a developmental system for the coach."

Then Amick dropped a stat from The Athletic's annual anonymous player poll that hit the room.

"There was a question asked that was asking 161 players, where do smart teams invest money outside of player contracts?" Amick said. "It jumped out at me. They literally, one player, out of 161, said the coach."

The conclusion Amick drew was about Presti and what he saw before anyone else did.

"Sam Presti does," Amick said. "He found a guy that he thought had potential and he groomed him, and it's worked out well."

Daigneault, to hear Amick tell it, is a deliberately quiet operator.

"He's a humble guy," Amick said. "He doesn't want to be in the spotlight. I did an interview with him once. It was a one-on-one, and he didn't know the interview was going to be featured with just him, and he wasn't real thrilled with that, because he makes a point to let his players be the ones out front."