The Thunder are interested in reaching contract extension agreements with Luguentz Dort and Darius Bazley but only if the price is right, GM Sam Presti told The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto and other media members on Monday.
“They’re both great guys,” Presti said. “I want to hear what they’re thinking, and I need them to understand we have to also balance the interest of the team as well.”
Presti indicated extension talks with Dort haven’t begun, Mussatto tweets.
“We’ll definitely have a conversation on that,” Presti said. “I don’t know when those conversations will pick up. We’ll have some different options. I don’t want to get into all of them.”
Here are some other highlights from Presti’s annual end-of-season press conference, via Mussatto:
- Dort (shoulder), Bazley (knee) and Josh Giddey (hip), among others, didn’t finish the season due to injuries but Presti expects everyone on the roster to be ready for training camp.
- The Thunder will play in two summer leagues, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Giddey and Aleksej Pokusevski will play in Salt Lake City.
- The Thunder have only $54MM on the books for the 2023/24 season and will continue efforts to keep their salary sheet clean leading up to a new CBA in the summer of 2023.
- If they’re not playing meaningful games as next season progresses, the Thunder plan to once again go into development mode as the season winds down. “We’re not just trying to figure out how to win two more games next year,” Presti said. “We could do that, but that solution doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best long-term solution for the team.”
- There’s a slim chance the Thunder could hold onto all four picks it currently possesses in the draft. “One thing I don’t think has been explored enough in the NBA is just drafting everybody and then figuring it out,” Presti said.
Dort is a goldmine for any contender and he will only get better with experience.
Thunder hoping for lightning in a bottle again. Doubt it happens
They’ll trade up to land top 3 if they don’t get it from the lottery.
Hope they get Smith/Banchero.
Extend Dort. Let Bazley walk unless he’s cheap.
I’m letting Bazley walk regardless if he’s cheap or not. Trade him, cut him do whatever it takes to not pay him.
I think Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Denver could make a run at Dort via trade. Even if he signs extension, he could yield a good return at next year’s deadline or when he becomes trade eligible
Trade him for what? More picks? Why?
What does Dort want is missing from the piece…who knows?
I can’t understand OKC so called “development”, they must play the young guys, a lot, like SGA, Giddey, Dort, Bazley & Poku, as of now they are the core of the team, they are the ones to develop, so play them, if they win, great, if they lose that’s good as well… but I can’t see any development by sitting them all & playing a bunch of G-Leaguers with no future in the league, that’s just wanting to lose without developing, just for a better lottery ticket, sadly that is what losers do!