Sam Presti Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Notes: Expectations, Trade Philosophy, Jones, More

September 25th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Thunder are being projected to finish atop the Western Conference standings again this season after winning 57 games in 2023/24. However, general manager Sam Presti doesn’t think the team is simply entitled to the outside perspective on them; he knows they have to prove it, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.

“The difference is that external expectations are things that some people think should happen,” Presti said, “and possibilities are things that we feel could happen, but we have a lot of respect for how hard it is for those things to take place. We don’t think we’re entitled to start on third base.”

After adding Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso to their core, Presti knows they’ll have to sort out some wrinkles early in the season.

“We’re going to need some time with this particular group, especially because we’re not trying to wedge those guys in or have assumptions about how they’re going to fit with certain players,” Presti said. “We kind of have to allow that to take its course, and as a result I think our continuity will not be great early, but if you look at continuity in the NBA, continuity generally shows up, or lack thereof, early in the year.

“There’s certain things that we’re going to have to confront, even if that means not getting the immediate benefits or the numbers might not look particularly good, but ultimately we’re going to have to get good at addressing these particular situations, issues, whatever it might be.”

As Lorenzi writes, that could mean experimenting with Caruso playing alongside other talented defenders like Cason Wallace and Luguentz Dort, or going with a two-big look by lining up Hartenstein next to Holmgren.

We have more from the Thunder:

At the end of last season, Presti said he might need to reevaluate how he operates with in-season trades. When asked again on Wednesday about that philosophy by Daily Thunder’s Brandon Rahbar (Twitter link), Presti said he thinks it’s hard to get a player up to speed quickly in the middle of the season. He reiterated that continuity is important and that the Thunder’s new players are going to take time to fit in. Presti didn’t rule out in-season trades, but he did express the need to be patient with internal development and exercise caution when adding new players. “Everyone tends to, when there’s a team that’s in regression or plateau period or whatever you want to call it, the default is [to] hit the trade builder,” Presti said. “Because to really have a very nuanced conversation about the other things, the internal things, I think that gets a little hard for people, because there’s a lot more gray area there and probably a little more expertise on that, to be speaking that language, rather than hit the builder and flip people in and out, But every time you do that, you’re adding risk to your existing team.”
If Kenrich Williams‘ injury lingers into the regular season, the Thunder may need to rely on rookie Dillon Jones sooner than expected, Rylan Stiles of SI writes. Jones, a 6’5″ small forward, showed scoring and defensive prowess collegiately at Weber State. The 26th overall pick averaged 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals in college.
In a mailbag, Lorenzi discusses several challenges the Thunder may face in 2024/25. For starters, the team may need to improve its three-point volume after ranking 16th in attempts but first in efficiency last season. Additionally, Oklahoma City will need to rely on Hartenstein to help defeat teams that pack the paint like Dallas did last year.

Thunder Trade Josh Giddey To Bulls For Alex Caruso

June 21st, 2024 at 10:43am CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder have officially traded Josh Giddey to the Bulls for Alex Caruso, the two teams confirmed in press releases. Our full trade breakdown from Thursday can be found here.

While Chicago’s statement doesn’t have any quotes from the front office, Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti was remarkably transparent, at least from his perspective, about how and why the trade transpired.

“We want to thank Josh for his many contributions to our team and know he will capitalize on the opportunities before him in Chicago.

“When we drafted Josh in 2021 he was an essential aspect of our vision for the next iteration of the Thunder. Since then, our team has evolved rapidly and dynamically in ways we could never have anticipated. Therefore, as we began our internal discussions this offseason, it was determined that bringing Josh off the bench next season was our best option to maximize his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes.

“As we laid out to Josh how he could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimize our current roster and talent, it was hard to for him to envision, and conversations turned to him inquiring about potential opportunities elsewhere. As always was the case, Josh demonstrated the utmost professionalism throughout the discussions. Josh has All-Star potential, but accessing that in the current construct of the Thunder would not be optimal for the collective. Based on these discussions we decided to move forward and prioritize what was best for the organization.

“Alex Caruso is a player we have always highly valued and followed. He is the quintessential Thunder player; he is an exceptional competitor and teammate with a multi-dimensional skillset. His presence and game will help elevate the core of our team as we continue to strive to build a sustainably elite program in Oklahoma City. Alex is a player that began his professional career with the Thunder/Blue and the opportunity to add him was something we felt would truly enhance our team and culture. We could not be more excited to see Alex in Thunder blue (again).”

A former sixth overall pick who is still only 21 years old, Giddey was brought off the bench for the first time in his career during the Thunder’s second-round series vs. Dallas due to shooting and defensive struggles. The Australian guard/forward, who is a very talented rebounder and passer, will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign a rookie scale extension with Chicago this offseason.

Caruso, meanwhile, has become one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders, earning All-Defensive team nods each of the past two seasons. He’s also a more accomplished shooter than Giddey, with superior accuracy (38.0% vs. 31.0%) from three-point range during his career. The 30-year-old is headed for unrestricted free agency in 2025 if he doesn’t sign an extension before the 2024/25 campaign ends.

Thunder GM Presti: I “Missed” On Hayward Trade

May 28th, 2024 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thunder general manager Sam Presti said he made a mistake by trading for Hornets forward Gordon Hayward, according to ESPN.

Hayward was supposed to provide a veteran presence to the rotation but barely played in the postseason. Oklahoma City gave up three players and two second-round picks for Hayward.

“I missed on that,” Presti said Tuesday during his end-of-season press conference. “That’s on me. But I’m learning, I’m trying to learn this team, I’m trying to learn the pace of the team a little bit. And trying to be a great observer of the team as it’s going through its paces, knowing that it’s really going to change on its own in and of itself.”

Hayward, who is headed to free agency, expressed frustration over his role after the team was eliminated.

“Obviously disappointing with kind of how it all worked out. This is not what I thought it would be. Certainly frustrating. … We have a great team here with great young players, a great coach. So the future is bright,” Hayward said, adding, “I feel like as a player I have a lot to offer. I just wasn’t given much of an opportunity to do that.”

As Presti pointed out, the move at least created some cap flexibility going forward for the Thunder, since all three of the players they sent to Charlotte in the deal are owed guaranteed money for 2024/25, whereas Hayward’s $33MM+ salary will come off OKC’s books this summer.

Here’s more from Presti’s press conference, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman:

Presti is happy with the team and coaching staff in place. “It’s not a matter of knowing what you need,” he said. “It’s a matter of knowing what you have. … I think one of the things that we learned is we have a really good base to work with.” As usual, Presti is armed with plenty of draft capital and approximately $35MM in cap space. And once again, he doesn’t feel the need to get a star player to complement what he already has on the roster. “I think we learned that we do have some guys in (Chet Holmgren) and (Jalen Williams) who are certainly not there yet, but I wouldn’t bet against them,” Presti said. “We didn’t mortgage our future to get that result. We didn’t do anything performative to accelerate that process. … But I’m glad we took the path that we did. Ultimately, we trusted the team.”
Presti wouldn’t tip his hand regarding Josh Giddey, who is extension-eligible this offseason but was removed from the starting lineup in the second round of the playoffs. “He is tough, and he is clutch,” Presti said. “He has been asked to change some things and adjust to different things, and he hasn’t flinched one time. He’s trying to figure out how to best help the team. … We’ll sit down and have those conversations relative to his contract when those are appropriate. But we also don’t have to do anything right now either because he has another year. I’m super open-minded about all of our players and where I think they can get to.”
With the No. 12 pick in the draft, Presti is wide open about the type of player he’ll pick. “We’re not looking for something specific, like an on-court need,” he said.

Celtics’ Brad Stevens Named NBA’s Executive Of The Year

April 30th, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been named the NBA’s Executive of the Year for the 2023/24 season, the league announced today (via Twitter).

In his third season as the Celtics’ head of basketball operations after eight years as the team’s head coach, Stevens put together a dominant Boston roster that posted a 64-18 record, easily the best mark in the NBA, along with a +11.7 net rating, the third-best mark in league history.

The Celtics were coming off a 57-win season in 2022/23, but Stevens shook up the roster drastically last summer, trading away longtime defensive stalwart Marcus Smart in a deal for Kristaps Porzingis, then moving key role players Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams in a a blockbuster for Jrue Holiday as training camps got underway.

Stevens also signed several Celtics players to contract extensions in the past 12 months, including Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, and Holiday.

Unlike the NBA’s other major awards, the Executive of the Year is voted on by 29 team executives from around the league rather than 99 media members. Stevens received 16 of 29 potential first-place votes, along with six second-place votes and three third-place votes, for a total of 101 points (Twitter link).

The runner-up, Sam Presti of the Thunder, had 47 points, including four first-place votes. Tim Connelly of the Timberwolves also earned the top spot on four ballots en route to a third-place finish (29 points).

Knicks president Leon Rose (27 points; one first-place vote) was the only other executive to earn more than 11 points, though Nico Harrison (Mavericks) and Monte McNair (Kings) also received first-place votes, while Rockets general manager Rafael Stone earned a pair of them. A total of 13 executives showed up on at least one ballot.

Northwest Notes: Thunder, McDaniels, Edwards, Towns, Jazz

September 28th, 2023 at 3:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder have plenty of draft assets and young players to dangle for a proven star. However, general manager Sam Presti doesn’t believe this is the right time to make that kind of trade, according to Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.

Presti wants to see his young team develop more with what they have before taking that route.

“I don’t think you can make a rational case for it now,” Presti said. “Perhaps at some point when we have a little more information, the team has demonstrated its capability and played in high-performing games and we see what our limitations are, potentially. But I don’t know that there’s a lot of good rational thinking behind that other than impulse and following content creation. That is just part of the world that we live in.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Timberwolves are hopeful of reaching a rookie scale extension agreement with forward Jaden McDaniels in the coming days, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets. “Yeah, certainly. … Had some constructive conversations with his agents and fingers crossed we’d like to get something done,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said. McDaniels will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension.
Who is the current team leader and face of the franchise the Timberwolves — Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Edwards? According to Edwards, that’s not even an issue, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. “That’s what people try to do, man,” Edwards said. “They try to, like, break you up. Who’s the best player, you or KAT? Or who should take the last shot, you or KAT? And I don’t think it’s about any of that.”
The Jazz have finalized their coaching staff, according to a team press release. Chad Forcier, Rick Higgins, Scott Morrison, and Mike Williams are the newcomers to Will Hardy‘s staff. Evan Bradds, Chris Jones, Sean Sheldon, Lamar Skeeter and Jason Terry are the returning assistants.

Western Notes: SGA, Gobert Trade, Daniels, J. Green

December 9th, 2022 at 10:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having an outstanding season in 2022/23, and looks destined for his first All-Star and All-NBA appearances. He’s third in the league in scoring at 31.1 PPG, and is also averaging 4.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.7 SPG and 1.1 BPG on .500/.324/.926 shooting through 23 games (35.7 MPG).

In a lengthy profile on Gilgeous-Alexander’s emergence as a star, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link) writes that, despite external speculation that the 24-year-old might grow impatient with the Thunder’s rebuild and eventually seek a trade, there’s no sense of that happening within the organization. Gilgeous-Alexander says he has a lot of faith in GM Sam Presti.

“It’s always easy to trust someone when they haven’t given you a reason not to trust them,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s always easier to trust someone when they tell you something and it happens. And that’s been my relationship with Sam so far.

“Everything he’s told me has happened, and he’s never lied to me … It’s easy to work — well, it’s crazy that basketball is work — but it’s easier to play basketball and put your all into every day and believe in the future when it’s a guy like that running the show.”

Here’s more from the West:

Prior to the Timberwolves‘ matchup with the Jazz on Friday, which the Wolves won 118-108 to move to 13-12, Michael Rand of The Star Tribune wrote an article about whether Minnesota would still make the Rudy Gobert deal right now, with the knowledge that the start to the season would be uneven. He believes the answer is “probably,” because while there have definitely been bumps along the way, Gobert has played better of late and he’s starting to develop some chemistry with teammates.
Dyson Daniels, the No. 8 overall pick in June’s draft, has emerged as an immediate contributor to the West’s No. 1 seed due to his strong defense, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. The 19-year-old Pelicans guard says he welcomes the challenge of guarding top players. “I like when people go at me. I love to accept that challenge,” Daniels said. “I want to show them that I’m here for a reason and I can defend. … Guys always want to go at the rookie, and I’m fine with that. It only makes me better.”
Rockets guard Jalen Green, last year’s No. 2 overall pick, has had a bit of an up-and-down second season thus far, which is to be expected for a young player on a rebuilding club. According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Green focuses on big-picture growth and has proven to be a sponge when it comes to soaking up information and watching film.

Northwest Notes: Brown, Grand Rapids Gold, Wolves, Presti

September 22nd, 2022 at 7:44pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Versatile role player Bruce Brown is getting comfortable ahead of his first season with the Nuggets, writes Ethan Fuller of Basketball News. The swingman signed a two-year, $13.2MM deal with Denver as a free agent this summer.

“[Knowing my role] was huge, because you don’t want to go to a team where it just won’t work, right?” Brown told Fuller. “So I knew coming to Denver — the way they play, it’s a lot of cuts, slips [and] corner threes. And then, they got a lot of guys who know how to play the game of basketball, so the game would be a lot easier.”

Brown hopes to thrive alongside 2021 and 2022 MVP Nikola Jokic, one of the game’s best passers.

“I feel like I’m one of the best cutters in the league,” Brown said. “So I can find open spots. make the game easier for him, knock down corner threes [and] just take some pressure off.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The assistant coaches under newly-named Grand Rapids Gold head coach Andre Miller have been announced, per a Nuggets press statement. Denver’s G League affiliate has upgraded Nate Babcock, an assistant coach under Jason Terry in 2021/22, to the role of associate head coach. The team is also adding two new assistants, Jeff Trepagnier and James Fraschilla, to its bench.
In a new Timberwolves reader mailbag, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic discusses Minnesota’s jumbo-sized All-Star frontcourt tandem of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, the health of Anthony Edwards‘s knee, head coach Chris Finch, and more.
Head of basketball operations Sam Presti addressed a variety of hot Thunder topics during a preseason press conference on Thursday, writes Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman. Presti spoke about the timeline for star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he recovers from a left MCL sprain, the team’s decision to sign swingman Luguentz Dort to a lucrative contract extension this summer, his thoughts on draft-and-stash guard Vasilije Micic, and more.

Chet Holmgren Injury Notes: Surgery, Details, More

August 25th, 2022 at 2:23pm CST by Rory Maher

After announcing that big man Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 draft, will miss his entire rookie season after sustaining a right foot injury, Thunder general manager Sam Presti held an impromptu media session (video link) to provide more details and insight on the situation, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).

The 20-year-old will undergo surgery in the “coming weeks,” said Presti, adding that Holmgren is expected to make a full recovery by the start of 2023/24. The GM said the long-term outlook is “very positive,” described the injury as bad luck, and added that Holmgren suffered a “rupture of the tendon” and “not a fracture,” according to Mussatto.

Presti also dismissed a question asking whether Holmgren’s thin frame might have been a factor in the injury.

“I understand there’s a lot of first-level thinking going on out there,” Presti said. “We can’t really control that. It’s a figment of the alternate reality that is the internet. But that’s not where reality resides. There are opinions and there are facts, and we are dealing with the facts.”

While the injury took place during a Seattle pro-am that was later called off due to unsafe (slippery) court conditions, Presti doesn’t believe that led to the incident.

“I don’t think the condensation on the floor was a factor,” Presti said, per Mussatto. “Obviously this happened pretty early, and I don’t believe that issue came up until later.”

Presti said Holmgren will work with longtime former Thunder veteran Nick Collison during the recovery process, Mussatto notes. Like Holmgren, Collison also missed his entire rookie season with an injury. He now works in the team’s front office.

Here are a few more notes regarding the unfortunate news:

Because the pro-am league, called “The CrawsOver” in honor of founder Jamal Crawford, is on the list of sanctioned events by the NBA, Holmgren’s future earnings will not be impacted, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Thunder will receive an insurance reimbursement worth 80% of Holmgren’s per-game salary after he misses 41 games, for a total of $4MM, Marks relays in a separate tweet.
The injury shouldn’t be an indictment on NBA players who participate in pro-am leagues, argues Law Murray of The Athletic. The events are free and take place in more intimate venues, which allows players to connect to fans in local communities, and they’ve been going on for decades without an issue, Murray writes. The fact that the injury took place at a pro-am league was just a random occurrence that shouldn’t “validate the concerns” of the minority who think players should only play in NBA games, says Murray.
Presti agrees with Murray’s assessment that it was a one-off incident, according to Mussatto. “Players are going to play in these (pro-ams),” Presti said, “because the NBA is saying that they are okay to play in. The other thing is, guys are playing all over the place all the time everywhere. If you have players that love to play, they are going to play basketball. Every time you step on a basketball court, something like this could happen. It could happen in a game. It could happen in a practice. It could happen in a scrimmage.”

Northwest Notes: Thunder, Presti, Nuggets, Ingles

May 1st, 2022 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Players who spent time with the Thunder this season will receive bonus checks because the team’s total salary is so low, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The current league-wide salary cap is $112.4MM and the minimum salary floor is 90% of the cap, which is roughly $101.2MM. Oklahoma City’s total salary was about $79MM, and the remaining $22MM will be distributed to the players.

The Players Association will vote on how the money will be divvied up, but Mussatto says players who were on the roster for at least 41 games are likely to receive full shares, while others will get half or quarter shares. The final determination is kept private.

“We lay a lot out on the floor and we work hard all year,” Luguentz Dort said, “and we’ve got to thank the organization for doing that for us, just all the players.”

General manager Sam Presti considered taking on extra salary at the trade deadline in exchange for draft assets, but ultimately decided to hold onto the team’s cap space.

“When we were sitting there at the deadline, we just didn’t like anything that was being thrown at us to use that space compared to the opportunity to roll it over to the draft,” Presti said. “Now, it doesn’t roll over to July 1, but we will have that room at the draft. I would put the odds of using that room pretty low. But I’d still rather have those odds than the things that were being presented to us (at the trade deadline).”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Presti is a strong supporter of an in-season tournament, Mussatto adds in a separate story. The proposal didn’t have enough support to receive an official vote last year, but it’s likely the Thunder would have voted yes. “I think it’s very future-oriented,” Presti said, “and it takes courage to put something out there that is going to probably be maligned a little bit, maybe won’t get the immediate love, but they’re thinking bigger picture.”
The Nuggets only got one playoff victory, but they consider this season a success because of all they had to overcome, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post. In addition to playing almost the entire season without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Denver was missing PJ Dozier, who suffered an ACL tear in November. “I say we beat adversity a lot of the times,” Monte Morris said. “Without Mike and Jamal, two great players, we still found ways in tough, hostile situations to win. That shows the character and how good we can be.”
Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian examines whether Joe Ingles will have any value to the Trail Blazers beyond his expiring contract. The 34-year-old had a torn ACL when Portland traded for him in February, and he may not be ready to return until midway through next season.

Thunder Notes: Dort, Bazley, Giddey, Salary Cap, Draft

April 18th, 2022 at 7:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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.