The Oklahoma City Thunder currently have 36 draft picks over the next seven years.
Along with this, they have built a very talented young roster that while still rebuilding, may be a true contender in a few years.
We have seen the Thunder have a great young core before.
Will they be contenders once again like they were in 2012, or will this rebuild be a flop?
Contenders
Oklahoma City already has a young budding star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Among players with 3 or more pull up 3 point attempts a game, Shai Gilgeous Alexander ranked 2nd in efficiency, shooting 40.9% from pull up 3s.
Shai also ranked 6th in pull up eFG% among players with more than 6 pull up attempts with 53.5% eFG
Elite high-volume pull up shooter. pic.twitter.com/x42JZLxyfg
— Karan (@karanjn2) August 27, 2021
Along with this, they have a plethora of amazing young role players like Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Hamidou Diallo, and Aleksej Pokusevski.
Pairing this with all of the draft capital they have, there are three roads the Thunder can take in this rebuild.
The first option is using the draft capital and their abundance of cap space to trade for or sign big-name stars.
The second would be to package their picks together and draft top players in the next few years.
The final option would be to just sit on their picks or keep amassing them.
The best option for the Thunder would likely be a hybrid of the first two options.
If they are able to land one big free agent this offseason, they could then use their picks to trade for other stars or trade up in the draft and get a big-name player.
Thunder GM Sam Presti has done an amazing job amassing this boatload of picks and young players.
However, if he does not turn it into something or just sits on the picks, it could easily blow up in his face and cost him his job.
Flop
While there are multiple ways this rebuild could work out for the Thunder, there are also a handful of ways that it is a flop.
If the Thunder were to trade Gilgeous-Alexander, it could be detrimental to the rebuild.
Oklahoma City is not the most appealing free agency destination so signing a superstar is unlikely.
Keeping Shai around and happy should be at the top of their to-do list.
Another way this could flop would be if Presti decides to never pull the trigger to end the rebuild.
When you are a GM, having a few young players and an outrageous amount of picks will keep you employed.
If he decides to keep Oklahoma City as a revolving door organization that will accept any trade as long as there is draft capital attached, it would keep the organization in a constant state of finishing as one of the worst teams in the league.
Along with this, it would waste years, if not entire careers, of players who have the potential to be real stars one day.
Conclusion
The future of the Thunder organization rests in the hands of Presti.
He has a treasure chest of assets at his disposal to create a dynasty in Oklahoma City.
However, if he continues to play scared and never turns those draft picks into anything, the Thunder will remain as one of the worst teams in the league until they move on from Presti.
For the Thunder fans, they should not worry.
Eventually, there will be enough pressure on Presti to compete for a championship and he will be forced to make deals to land stars or to move up in the draft and select amazing prospects.
In Sam Presti, Thunder Nation trusts 😎 pic.twitter.com/mfNG3Zyt3U
— Thunder Nation (@ThunderNationCP) September 2, 2021
However, for the time being, the Thunder are still in their post-Russell Westbrook rebuild for yet another season.
NEXT: 2 Moves Thunder Must Make To Take Step Forward