Thunder s 2025 s Champion Road Starts with a deal with Cole

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Dong Changshuo

In June 2007, Steve Cole, who had just been promoted to the position of general manager of the Suns, received an important task from his boss Savor: tax avoidance.

"At that time, our salary expenditure was exactly $8 million in tax payments," Cole recalled. "We just had to trade Cote Thomas to achieve the goal of tax avoidance. At that time, looking at the entire league, only one team was able to absorb Cote Thomas' salary."

After Cole officially announced that he was in charge of the Suns for 6 days, another Western Conference team also ushered in the handover of rights. Supersonics boss Clay Bennett hired Presti, who had previously served as vice president and assistant general manager at the Spurs as the team's new general manager. Presti, 30, became the second youngest general manager in league history and was given great freedom of operation.

Less than a month after taking office, Presti began to cast his magic. He first selected Durant in the second pick in the draft, sent Ray Allen to the Celtics, and took Jeff Green with the replacement No. 5 draw. Subsequently, Presti seized the opportunity of Rashad Lewis leaving the team, sent him to the Magic by signing first and then changing, and created a $9 million trade exception in this transaction, becoming the "only team that has the ability to absorb the salary of Cole."

Of course, the Suns have to pay a certain price to Presti swallow Cott Thomas's salary. The two managers, who are also from the Spurs, have determined their final bargaining chips after about two weeks of negotiation. While sending Thomas, Cole sent two first-round picks in 2008 and 2010 to the Supersonics. Looking back, "selling" the salary space to exchange for rebuilding assets was an important way of operation for Presti. Later Paul, Horford and Walker were all in line with each other, and this transaction with Cole was the starting point of everything.

2008 was a turning point for the Supersonics, with the team relocating to Oklahoma and renamed the Thunder. At the same time, Presti also took away Westbrook with the No. 4 draw in the draft. Outside the spotlight, the gears of fate are still turning quietly. In the 2007-08 season, the Suns finally scored a regular season record of 55 wins and 27 losses. The first round pick was eventually converted into the 24th pick, bringing Ibaka to the Thunder. (Ibaka lags behind for a year and enters the NBA at the same time as Harden in 2009.)

Ibaka quickly showed his defensive value after entering the NBA, and became the league's blocking king four times in the first seven seasons of his career. This alone is enough to define Presti's deal as success. However, the butterfly effect in the summer of 2007 is far from over. On the 2016 draft night, Presti reached a deal with the Magic, sent Ibaka to get Oladipo and the No. 11 pick, and immediately selected Sabonis Jr. with this draft pick. Two weeks later, Durant chose to leave, further pushing the domino.

In 2017, Presti looked for help for Westbrook who stayed in the team, and the goal was to Paul George who was eager to leave Indiana. Guess what, Presti gave away the chips Oladipo and Sabonis Jr. exchanged for Ibaka. Two seasons later, the Thunder decided to rebuild and the storyline gradually became clear. Presti used George to trade from the Speedboat to get the regular season MVP of Alexander this season, and there are also a basket of draft pick assets, including the No. 12 pick used to pick Jaylen Williams in 2022.

got the first round pick in 2008, selected Ibaka, traded Ibaka to get Oladipo and Sa Xiao, and used these two players to exchange for George, and finally converted to Alexander and Jewe, reaching the 2025 NBA Finals. Everything goes back to the summer of 2007, and to the transaction where Blaiseti avoided taxes for Cole and the Sun.

"The Thunder's become a result of Presti's organized team building," Cole said. "Every operation affects each other, so for managers, every operation is very important because I know Presti will use a great way to form a top team."