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What Thunder GM Sam Presti had to say about NBA trade rumors, OKC rebuild, 2023-24 team
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- What Thunder GM Sam Presti had to say about NBA trade rumors, OKC rebuild, 2023-24 team
After hitting the reset button in 2020, general manager Sam Presti has built the OKC Thunder back up brick by brick.
That house began to take shape last season. OKC went 40-42, a 16-win increase from the previous year. It watched Shai Gilgeous-Alexander become an All-NBA First Team selection. It saw the rise of other young prospects such as Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams .
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OKC has become home to one of the most promising young teams in the league. And when asked during his annual preseason press conference Wednesday about the possibility of accelerating the timeline and trading for a star, Presti pumped the brakes.
"You can't buy the paint for your house that you haven't bought yet," Presti said. "You don't know wherethe 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.
"I think this is part of the headwinds that you face as a young team. I wouldn't want to cash in to become average or above average."
Star-level trades have been the talk of the NBA this offseason.
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A blockbuster deal materialized on Wednesday, just a few hours after the conclusion of Presti's press conference, when the Portland Trail Blazers sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal.
Whenever the next disgruntled star emerges, OKC has the assets to outbid most teams.
The Thunder boast a wealth of young players. It also has 35 draft picks over the next seven years, including 15 first-round picks.
But as OKC prepares to begin preseason play with a home game against the San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, Presti isn't ready to go paint shopping just yet.
"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.
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"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."
Here's what else Presti had to say on Wednesday:
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Presti says Thunder will be 'better team' by the end of this season
After going 24-58 in the 2021-22 season, the Thunder went 40-42 last season and reached the play-in tournament.
It was a major leap for OKC, and Presti believes the team will continue to make strides this season.
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"We're going to be a better team by the end of the season," Presti said. "The synchronicity and the time together and the experience shared, I think we'll be a better team. … I'm confident we'll be a better team."
OKC appears to have gotten better on paper this offseason.
The Thunder added overseas guard Vasilije Micic along with veterans such as Davis Bertans and Victor Oladipo .
Chet Holmgren , the second overall pick in 2022, will also be available after missing all of last season due to a foot injury. The Thunder added Kentucky's Cason Wallace and Kansas State's Keyontae Johnson through this year's draft as well.
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"What I say to our fans is enjoy the ride," Presti said. "We have a great group of guys, and they work hard. Really hard. … They really want to do well for the city and the team and themselves."
Thunder won't 'predetermine' Chet Holmgren's minutes
After missing all of last season due to a foot injury, Holmgren is available.
OKC selected Holmgren with the second overall pick in the 2022 draft. And as the team prepares for its preseason opener against the Spurs on Monday, there's no predetermined game plan for Holmgren's minutes this season.
"I think the big thing with that is you don't want to predetermine anything," Presti said. "We have to see how he responds, and then we can play it from there."
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Holmgren appeared in four games during the Summer League this offseason. He averaged 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks.
It's an encouraging sign for the former Gonzaga star, who could be a difference maker for the Thunder this season.
"He's hit all the marks so far," Presti said. "But we'll have to be very observant, and we're going to have to improvise a little on that."
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Chet Holmgren averaged 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks for the Thunder during NBA Summer League play in July.
Presti says everything 'lined up' for Vasilije Micic to join OKC
OKC signed EuroLeague star Vasilije Micic to a three-year, $23.5 million deal in July.
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The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Micic with the No. 52 overall pick in the 2014 Draft, and OKC acquired the rights to the Serbian guard in a 2020 trade.
Micic, 29, is a two-time EuroLeague champion and a one-time EuroLeague MVP. He boasts career averages of 12.7 points and 4.8 assists.
Now on the Thunder, Micic figures to provide some valuable veteran leadership and production.
"It just kind of lined up and made sense," Presti said. "As far as his game goes, the NBA is very favorable to skilled players who know how to play. … He has a lot of that.
"There's no fixed mindset of what he can or can't do. We'll see if he has some good combinations with us."
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul's Vasilije Micic celebrates after his team won the Basketball Euroleague Final Four championship final match between FC Barcelona and Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Cologne, western Germany, on May 30, 2021. - Istanbul won 86-81.
Presti says it 'doesn't make sense' to retain Victor Oladipo
Presti provided an update on Victor Oladipo on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old guard suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee while playing for the Miami Heat in April. He was then traded to the Thunder along with two second round picks (2029 and 2030) in exchange for a $9.5 million trade exception on June 30.
Presti said Oladipo won't be at training camp, and he's unlikely to stick with the team throughout the course of this season. Oladipo has one year remaining on his contract and is set to receive $9.45 million this season.
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"We will have to make a decision on that contract," Presti said. "He'll be back this season at some point, and I'm sure he'll be playing with a really good team. … The alignment for us just doesn't make sense right now."
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Miami's Victor Oladipo (4) goes past Oklahoma City's Luguentz Dort (5) during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. Miami won 110-108.
Presti is confident Aleksej Pokusevski will 'battle back' from latest injury
Aleksej Pokusevski suffered a right ankle sprain during a workout on Sept. 19. The 21-year-old forward will miss all of training camp and won't play in the preseason.
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It's the latest setback for the fourth-year big man, who was sidelined for at least four to six weeks in the summer due to a small fracture in his right arm.
"He'll battle back from it," Presti said. "I don't know how long, specifically, it'll be."
Pokusevski showed growth when he was on the floor this past season. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting a career-high 36.5% from deep.
The Serbian is set to become a restricted free agent following the conclusion of this season.
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Presti is 'out of his depth' when it comes to new arena proposal
Oklahoma City officials announced plans to build a new arena for the OKC Thunder on Sept. 12
The proposed project would be built at a minimum cost of $900 million, and it'll be primarily funded by an extension of the city's temporary one-cent sales tax. The Oklahoma City Council voted 7-2 on Tuesday to send the plan to ballot for voters on Dec. 12.
When asked about the proposal on Wednesday, Presti pleaded ignorance.
"I'm biased," Presti said while pointing to an OKC Thunder logo behind him. "I can't hide that. ... I'm not a politician. I don't want to say anything that could be misinterpreted because I'm out of my depth on that."
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got 'diversity of experience' during FIBA World Cup run
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returns to OKC after a dominant showing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The 25-year-old guard averaged 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists in eight games, and he led Team Canada to a bronze medal.
That experience is valuable in the eyes of Presti, who spoke about OKC's star guard on Wednesday.
"I think one thing we believe in is diversity of experience, playing with different players," Presti said. "You need to have experience playing with different people in different environments."
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Gilgeous-Alexander's strong play in the FIBA World Cup was a continuation of his strong play in the NBA last season.
The Hamilton, Ontario, native averaged 31.4 points and 5.5 assists, which helped him earn an All-NBA First Team selection.
"His off-season regime is intense," Presti said. "There's two professors that have come from Hamilton. One is Shai because he's in the lab, and the other is the drummer from rush called Neil Peart. They call him The Professor. There's two professors. Shai doesn't realize there was another one probably, but he's in the lab."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti talks about Chet Holmgren, SGA, new arena
