OKC Thunder: It’s do-or-die for Sam Presti this summer

Heading into the summer of 2017, it’s do or die for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sam Presti

The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder failed to reach the second round of the postseason was 2010 (excluding an injury-plagued 2015 season), when they lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Lakers under Head Coach Scott Brooks.

Fast forward to 2017, the Thunder find themselves in unchartered waters following a first round playoff exit. However, this season was concluded far before it even started, when Kevin Durant announced that he’d be leaving OKC for greener pastures (Golden State) last summer.

Sans Durant, many expected Russell Westbrook to take the league by storm while the Thunder (on paper) looked mediocre at best – and that’s exactly what happened.

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Westbrook took his domination to another level, becoming the second player in league history to average a triple-double (30.7 points, 10.4 assists, 10.7 rebounds) for a season. On top of becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double, Westbrook set the record for most triple-doubles in a season (42) and the most 50-point triple-doubles in a season (3).

You get the point, Westbrook is great, remarkable and likely Hall of Fame bound. But, the same can’t be said about his supporting cast.

General Manager Sam Presti has been stellar since joining the franchise in 2007. Even though trading James Harden was a head-scratcher, there’s no question that he did a fair enough job in surrounding Durant and Westbrook with the necessary supporting pieces when they were together. Some highlights of Presti’s work in OKC revolves around bringing in Kendrick Perkins, when he was actually good, and trading Jeff Green at just the right time.

Now, though, it’s time for Presti to work his magic around Westbrook.

This season, Westbrook finished the season with a 41.7 usage rate. That’s insane. Not even Allen Iverson, who was primarily a one-man team throughout his career, never eclipsed a 37.8 usage rate.

You simply can’t win like that, nor can you last playing that way. Did you see Westbrook in the fourth quarter of Game 5 against Houston? He had nothing left.

Then again, what was he supposed to do in that series? Pass it to Victor Oladipo? No, he was nowhere to be found in that series. Andre Roberson? No, he’s extraordinarily bad on the offensive end.

To make matters worse, the team’s second-best offensive player can’t even sniff the court because of how bad he’s on the defensive end. Enes Kanter might actually be the worst defensive player in the NBA.

To improve the roster, Presti might want to start by getting a shooter or two to play next to Westbrook.

During the regular season, Oklahoma City ran the pick-and-roll 35 percent of the time and scored 0.89 points per possessions, per NBA.com. They ranked 29th in uncontested three-point percentage and 28th in corner threes.

Simply put, OKC was one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA last season. A few potential targets for Presti this summer include: J.J. Redick (43% 3PT), Omri Casspi (38% 3PT), Luc Mbah a Moute (39% 3PT), Kyle Korver (45% 3PT), Bojan Bogdanovic (39% 3PT) or Patty Mills (41% 3PT).

If Westbrook signs the contract extension, it says that he trusts what the organization is doing and is in it for the long haul

Presti has options here but pursuing them to play for the veteran’s minimum (because the Thunder won’t have much, if any, money to spend this summer) in a small market like Oklahoma City will be the hard, if not impossible, part.

Besides their atrocious shooting, Russell Westbrook also needs a true No. 2 option BAD. During the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder Plus/Minus of +3 when Westbrook was on the floor. When he was off it, though, the Thunder’s Plus/Minus was -11.6.

There’s no question that OKC badly needs a second option for Westbrook. Problem is, if the Thunder retains Roberson and Taj Gibson, there’s no room for that second option. With Oladipo, Steven Adams and Kanter locked up long term, short of trading one (or two of them), the Thunder can’t really pursue a Blake Griffin or Gordon Hayward this summer.

In order to get ahead of the rising cap, Presti elected to give extensions to Adams and Oladipo early and that’s a typical Presti move. Although, it ended up handicapping the organization and eliminated all flexibility heading into this summer.

But, those issues aside, Presti’s No. 1 priority this summer should be getting Russell Westbrook to sign that early extension.

Remember last summer when Westbrook signed an extension, appearing as the “good guy” in the midst of Durant leaving?

Well he actually signed a one-year extension, delaying his free agency until 2018, when he can opt out and test free agency.

At the moment, Westbrook is saying all the right things.

"[via ESPN]“Everybody knows that I like Oklahoma City and I love being here and I love everybody here…Obviously, Oklahoma City is a place that I want to be.”"

Although, this summer, Westbrook will be able to put his money where his mouth is. Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder will offer Westbrook the largest NBA contract (5-years, $220 million) in history this summer.

Question is, will he sign it?

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If Westbrook signs the contract extension, it says that he trusts what the organization is doing and is in it for the long haul. However, if he doesn’t, that’s when it gets interesting.

Presti has been down this road twice already, with James Harden and Kevin Durant. He’s whiffed both times. Will he make the same mistake with Russell Westbrook?