Sam Presti has long been considered to be one of the best GMs in the NBA. His drafting record is immaculate, having selected Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka in consecutive first rounds (Ibaka and Westbrook were actually selected in the same first round in 2008), and even his riskiest, most scrutinized moves (trading James Harden in 2012, signing Enes Kanter to a max deal last summer) have proved to be progressive maneuvers. That said, Kevin Durant’s departure yesterday throws a monkey wrench in all of Presti’s front office brilliance to this point, but if there’s a GM out there tailor-made for a potential rebuilding effort, it’s him.

The strings he’s pulled to make the Thunder a perennial contender the last half-decade make KD’s departure probably sting a bit more, but you couldn’t tell in his message to reporters yesterday, just hours after Durant bolted for Golden State. If you remember, when LeBron James similarly left Cleveland for Miami 6 summers ago, Cavs owner Dan Gibson unleashed a bitter, angry and spiteful open letter about the situation, one that he’s publicly repealed (which you kind of have to do when your city’s prodigal son about-faces and rejoins your team). Presti, whether Gibson’s misstep was on his mind or not, delivered quite the antithesis of that letter yesterday, and instead praised Durant’s maturity, and the city growth that accompanied it.

July 5, 2016