Sam Presti building Thunder for the long run - USA TODAY

By Robert Klemko, USA TODAY

Updated

OKLAHOMA CITY â€" Sam Presti didn't take much time to celebrate an NBA Finals berth for his Oklahoma City Thunder.

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  Sue Ogrocki, AP

  Sam Presti, general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, has his team on the verge of an NBA title.

Sue Ogrocki, AP

Sam Presti, general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, has his team on the verge of an NBA title.

The morning after the team earned a Game 6 clinching victory against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals, the fifth-year general manager was bound for the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago.

Fitting that such an event should steal Presti's attention, given the Thunder's rise is linked in large measure to the draft. Four of Oklahoma City's six main contributors were acquired via the draft, and its draftees made up 61% of the playing time this season, compared to 12% for the Miami Heat, their Finals opponent.

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"We've always had a clear vision of what it is we're trying to establish in Oklahoma City. And that's a team that could be sustained and an organization that could have endurance," Presti said.

Presti, whose NBA career began with an internship with the Spurs, says Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett's approach and expectations made it possible to carry out his vision.

Hired in 2007, a year before the team relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City, Presti, then 29, razed the SuperSonics' roster. He dealt All-Stars Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis for chunks of future draft picks and a trade exception, which eventually yielded current starter Serge Ibaka. Presti then fired coach P.J. Carlesimo after a 1-12 start in 2008, the first season in Oklahoma City.

After assistant coach Scott Brooks took over, Bennett â€" who declined to be interviewed â€" only had to watch one more losing season before three consecutive playoff appearances.

"If it wasn't for Mr. Bennett, we wouldn't have the opportunity," Brooks said. "He allows us to do our job. When we weren't winning a lot of games he never looked at us as a team that wasn't a group of winners. He always treated us as champions."

The Thunder's redesign began in Seattle with the drafting of Kevin Durant. After moving to Oklahoma, Presti drafted point guard Russell Westbrook out of UCLA in 2008 and shooting guard and sixth man James Harden out of Arizona State the following year.

Presti won't take credit for Durant's success, or Westbrook's and Harden's rapid growth. He said the team has been "very fortunate."

" And we're the first to say that," Presti said. "When we're making those selections, all we're trying to do is shift the odds in the draft and make the best decisions that we can. We also understand that there are a lot of variables in the success of a player."

Among the variables in Oklahoma City is adjusting to a small-market culture. As forward Nazr Mohammed puts it, "this place isn't for everybody."

"Sam has put together an incredible team. A unique team," Brooks said. "A team that believes in work and believes in team and believes in doing your job every day."

The only way to sustain it, Presti said, is to take a careful, calculated approach with an eye on longevity.

"We've always focused on the next day because when you go through tough times or take a path that's a little bit less traveled, you can't skip steps," Presti said. "We wanted our first trip to the playoffs to be an entrance, not an appearance."

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