Happy 5th birthday to what was once Sam Presti’s distant dream.

A mere embryo, older than a thought but younger than a tangible trend upward. Five years ago today, recovering from the heartbreak that came with giving up on his first and most successful team-building baby, the Thunder general manager penned an op-ed in The Oklahoman.

The Russell Westbrook era was over. The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander era, which in July of 2019 was probably better known as Ground Zero, was just beginning. The remnants of a wildly successful first decade were reduced to ash. The challenge of building the next decade appeared immense.

For the Thunder, it took five years to rise from the ashes. Five years to return to contention, with as optimistic a window as it’s maybe ever had in its youthful lifespan.

And in his letter five summers ago, Presti detailed the path with eerie accuracy.

The Oklahoman's Thunder beat writer Joel Lorenzi chose to revisit it in an annotation:

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Presti: Given the events of the last few weeks, I think it is important for all of us who love the Thunder to reflect on where we have been, where we are now, and most importantly where we are going — as well as how we plan to get there.

Lorenzi: These words might feel more familiar than most. They made up Presti’s opening, an immediate declaration to explore the team’s past, present and future. Emphasized accordingly, Presti would dive deepest into the team’s future.

Presti: The bond between the team and its fans has changed lives, boosted the local economy, transformed our downtown, and — perhaps most importantly — brought confidence and recognition to a city and a state that has too often been overlooked.

Lorenzi: Presti’s appreciation for the location of his life’s work has become evident. He’s made mention of silver spoons and advantages, none of which he’s been able to claim. He’s associated Oklahoma City with being a city that gets everything out the mud. He’s seemingly felt that in leading a front office in a league of far more powerful markets.

And beyond that appreciation, there seems to be a level of satisfaction wedged somewhere. In what could come from building an empire in OKC. A ring might not quench Presti’s satisfaction in totality. Going without one surely wouldn’t. His love for the game and what he’s built runs too deep. He and Jerry Krause are similar in that bug for the chase, with Presti still going on the road sometimes to scout and finding enjoyment in discovering hidden talent. Digging beyond the surface, extracting juice from seemingly unlively crops.

Building greatness in Oklahoma City brings purpose. Building something sustainably great where greatness was never meant to live would be the ultimate pat on the back.

Presti: Over the last few weeks, we have parted ways with foundational players — people who have represented our city to the world, who have sacrificed for us and flourished on our behalf. Although this has been painful, I also believe that — given the circumstances — it was necessary. In saying goodbye to the past, we have begun to chart our future. 

Lorenzi: In his letter, Presti makes no mention of Westbrook. Perhaps because it was too painful. Perhaps it would’ve added 3,000 words to an otherwise succinct letter. Perhaps this wasn’t the proper occasion, with Presti marking the note as a time capsule of sorts, hopeful that one could eventually dig it up and smirk as their index finger traced the words.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he probably hoped they’d eventually think.

For what it’s worth, there was no mention of Paul George, either  — a similarly necessary sacrifice and now an increasingly essential part of this current Thunder roster. OKC is still reaping the benefits of the Clippers’ desires.

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Presti: The next great Thunder team is out there somewhere, but it will take time to seize and discipline to ultimately sustain.

Lorenzi: Five years, a few investments, one particularly great draft and a patient season as the first overall seed was all it took.

Presti: Oklahoma City expects, and deserves, extraordinary success. Delivering this is what drives us. But I want to be transparent and realistic about the process that meeting these types of expectations may require. Despite our city’s rapid rise and growth, Oklahoma City remains the second-smallest market in the NBA.

Lorenzi: Expansion might do wonders for Presti’s mental health. The suggestion of moving the Timberwolves and Grizzlies to the Eastern Conference to unload the weapon wheel of threats in the West would be pure bliss for a man that’s broken his back to dress the Oklahoma City market up with Dallas talent.

Mentions of silver spoons and market size all come with being disgruntled by default by organizations like the Lakers and Warriors. Slights with built-in eye rolls about how low the floor could get when things went south in OKC, and how few options it had in comparison.

Perhaps even Presti couldn't have envisioned a five-year turnaround, but he was always willing to lay out the brutality that would come with a legitimate tank job. A historically relevant reset. A pair of seasons that could soon feel like a blip in OKC’s history.

Presti: This in no way means we cannot be extraordinarily successful — we, and several other small to mid-market teams, are our own best examples of the ability to overcome these realities. It simply means we must be thinking differently, optimistically, finding our advantages by other means.

Lorenzi: Turning undrafted players into starters, experimenting with small lineups and unconventionally deep rotations, and flipping All-Stars into treasure troves of picks — some of which will be used well into Presti’s fifties — is about as different as it gets in this thing.

Presti: To build true excellence in any industry, and then sustain it, requires trading on time and playing the empirical odds. This will require strategic discipline and thoughtful patience, but these are values our organization has always held high. That’s how longevity is earned. It is important to remember that.

Things will inevitably get harder from here. At some point during this transition, we may not have the kind of team you’ve been used to.

Lorenzi: Surely a pair of seasons with a combined 46 wins isn’t what fans envisioned when the Westbrook era ended. Something grim and in the nature of a rebuild, sure. But not a 70-point loss. Not Josh Hall, Justin Jackson or Moses Brown, members of the Thunder’s all-rebuilding team.

Presti, as delicate as possible, laid out how grim things could get. Tough times that offered possible longevity.

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Presti: There will always be the temptation to take shortcuts, to look for quick fixes, and to reach out for instant gratification. There will no doubt be criticisms — much of which we could all recite in advance right now. It is the job of the organization to resist those shortcuts, accept that criticism, and keep us deeply committed.

Lorenzi: If Presti truly is prescient, the criticisms he had in mind would feature terms like “black eye,” and “bottom of the barrel.” Those two years were ugly stretches composed of forgettable and basketball and think pieces on the Thunder’s decision making.

But it seems Presti knew that all along.

That of the handful of realities that could net the Thunder an actual contender, things would have to reach an all-time low.

His chance at his quickest fix came this past season, as well as this summer. Speculation league wide that, with OKC’s rapid rise, it would pitch an inconceivable package for a star like Lauri Markkanen. Or that it would reach for a rotational, traditional big man to patch its immediate problems midseason.

Instead, Presti flipped guard Josh Giddey for All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso, and with the cap space allotted from a midseason Gordon Hayward trade, he freed up the bank to pay Isaiah Hartenstein good money with the Oklahoma City tax on top — the kind of moves that spell commitment to winning big.

Presti: The people of Oklahoma City should be able to one day watch the rise of another great team, as they have watched the rise of their rebuilt downtown, with the knowledge that they are witnessing something not only great but enduring. 

Lorenzi: Sam Presti has a thing for architecture, for landscape. The most artistic form of infrastructure. He’ll admire the growth of a downtown. He likens the Thunder’s iterations to mountains. He appreciates the things that compose structures, and all the things that accent them.

That appreciation lies in the most meticulous details of the last five years. The negotiations, the draft work, the on-court experimentation, the player development, the revelations of star power, the vision that went from an egg to a roster.

Presti stood pat, taking in the seeds and fruits of the process, long enough to see his organization rise again.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Looking back at OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti's 2019 op-ed words