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What OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti said about Gordon Hayward, NBA Draft, 2023-24 season
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- What OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti said about Gordon Hayward, NBA Draft, 2023-24 season
OKC Thunder general manager Sam Presti held his end-of-season media availability Tuesday at team headquarters.
Presti completed his 16th season with OKC, which went 57-25 and reached the Western Conference semifinals, where the Thunder then suffered a 4-2 series loss to Dallas .
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Here are five takeaways from Presti's press conference:
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Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti speaks to the media in Oklahoma City, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Presti says OKC has a 'really good base to work with'
OKC showed signs of potential during the 2022-23 season.
The Thunder went 40-42, a 16-win improvement compared to the previous campaign, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned an All-NBA First Team selection. But when asked during his annual media availability prior to this season, Presti didn't show any desire to accelerate the timeline.
"You can't buy the paint for your house that you haven't bought yet," Presti said on Sept. 27, 2023. "You don't know where the house is. ... You don't know what style it is. You don't know how much paint you'll need. We don't really know what we have right now."
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That house took another step toward being built this season.
OKC went 57-25, and it reached the Western Conference semifinals as the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history for either conference. Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in MVP voting , while Mark Daigneault won the Coach of the Year award .
"It's not a matter of knowing what you need," Presti said on Tuesday. "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."
OKC has everything it needs to be a buyer this offseason.
The Thunder has about $35 million in cap space and a wealth of draft capital. Still, Presti expressed patience rather than pressure to go all-in.
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That's the choice the 17-year general manager made this past trade deadline, acquiring Charlotte's Gordon Hayward rather than trying to land a superstar . It instead leaned on its young core, which includes a pair of up-and-comers in Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren .
Both players were selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, and both of them showed potential to reach star status. Holmgren averaged 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds, while Williams averaged 19.1 points and 4.5 assists.
"I think we learned that we do have some guys in Chet and Jalen 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."
More: Mussatto: OKC Thunder is contender now, but its best version remains years away
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Presti has 'no problem' with Gordon Hayward 's exit interview comments
Hayward's time with the Thunder this season didn't go as planned.
After getting moved from Charlotte to OKC at the trade deadline, the 34-year-old forward struggled to carve out a role. He didn't score in 46 total playoff minutes, and he expressed his frustration during his exit interview on May 19.
"Obviously, disappointing with kind of how it all worked out," Hayward said. "It's not what I thought it would be, and it's certainly frustrating. I feel like as a player I have a lot to offer, and I just wasn't given much of an opportunity to do that.
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"I think the minutes were certainly down and sporadic to a point where they were nonexistent. Just when I was out there, it was limited touches, I would say."
Presti was asked about Hayward's comments on Tuesday.
The OKC general manager said he hasn't looked at the exit interview transcript. Still, Presti didn't push back on Hayward's stance.
"I had no problem with anything," Presti said. "Whatever he's saying, it's fine. … I think it was a bit of a tough situation. To go from always starting to go to a team that was starting to surge quite a bit, that has a very different way of playing.
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"He was totally focused on doing what the team asked him to do. I don't have any knocks on him in that way at all."
Numerous trades made by Presti throughout the years have aged well.
In his first season as general manager of the Seattle Super Sonics in 2007, Presti pulled off a sign-and-trade deal that sent Rashard Lewis to Orlando. Seattle received a 2008 first-round pick that turned into Serge Ibaka .
Presti then traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019. OKC received Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari , five future first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps.
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Presti's track record speaks for itself. But, in hindsight, Presti admits the timing of the Hayward deal and his fit on the team wasn't ideal.
"I missed on that," Presti said. "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. ... Every time someone changes or develops or we stumble onto something, it changes the rest of the team and how they can perform. I think it's pretty nuanced and texturized.
"But I don't think I read that one perfect. And I'm learning from that in terms of bringing somebody mid-season, and especially early on in the process for our team."
Gordon Hayward's wife, Robyn Hayward, chimed in on Instagram Tuesday.
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"Why trade for someone and not play them?" Robyn commented on a post about Presti's remarks. "Missed it by not integrating him. ... Before the trade, Gordon told Sam he didn't think this trade made sense. So how can you miss when the player told you?"
More: OKC Thunder exit interviews: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Co. wrap up 2023-24 season
Presti says OKC's offensive struggles vs Dallas will 'make us better'
OKC showcased an elite offense during the regular season.
Led by Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 30.1 points, the Thunder ranked third in the NBA in both points per game (120.1) and offensive rating (118.3).
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But OKC's offense took a drastic dip in production during its Western Conference semifinals series loss to Dallas. The Thunder averaged 106 points, and it only shot 33.5% from deep.
Presti said OKC's offensive drop-off was 'surprising.' Still, the playoff experience is invaluable for a team that entered this season with the second-youngest roster in the NBA.
"I think we demonstrated (in the regular season) that we can play at a historically high level offensively," Presti said. "But for a team that's as young as us to go out and now put that into practice against playoff teams… that is going to make us better. We will be reaping the benefits of that."
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Dereck Lively II #2 of the Dallas Mavericks drives to the basket against Josh Giddey #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs at American Airlines Center on May 18, 2024, in Dallas, Texas.
Presti says Josh Giddey 'hasn't flinched' during up-and-down season
Josh Giddey experienced plenty of adversity this season.
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The 21-year-old guard faced off-court allegations early in the campaign, and he also struggled on the court. Giddey averaged 8.7 points on 45.3% shooting from the floor during the playoffs, which resulted in him getting benched for the first time in his three-year career.
"It was an up-and-down year," Presti said of Giddey. "He's 21, so 21-year-olds generally have up-and-down years. …. Everyone's path is different."
Giddey is eligible for a rookie extension this offseason, although he's still under contract for the 2024-25 campaign.
And while Presti didn't go into detail about extension plans regarding Giddey, he did praise the Thunder guard for his resiliency this past season.
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"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."
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Presti says OKC is 'not looking for something specific' in 2024 NBA Draft
OKC has the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft , which is set for June 26-27.
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It marks the fourth straight year that the Thunder will have a lottery pick. And while OKC could benefit from adding a rim-protecting center or a versatile wing, Presti says the team won't enter draft night with plans of filling a specific need.
"When it comes to the draft, we're looking for the best fit for us," Presti said. "We generally gravitate to a certain type of player and person. A lot of it is wanting to be a part of what it is that we're working toward and seeing if we can find self-satisfaction out of being a part of that. That's a big baseline part of it.
"We're not looking for something specific, like an on-court need."
Unlike the 2023 draft, which was headlined by Victor Wembanyama , the 2024 draft is considered by many people to be relatively weak.
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But Presti and his staff have shown an ability to identify talent throughout the years, especially toward the end of the lottery. It selected Steven Adams with the 12th pick in 2013, and it landed Williams with the 12th pick in 2022.
"I like the (2024) draft," Presti said. "I think it's pretty good. … One thing we know historically is that there are good players in there, and it never goes in order."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Five takeaways from OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti's end-of-season presser
