Sam Presti Reiterates Patience Amidst Oklahoma City's Rise: 'We Can't Cut Corners Here'
Oklahoma City’s general manager Sam Presti hosted his preseason press conference on Wednesday morning, signaling the start of another NBA basketball season. Hopes are high within the city and attention is starting to pickup around the national media with the Thunder’s impressive young core.
The organization has a bonafide superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a handful of potential stars headlined by Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. In addition to the current roster core, Oklahoma City also still possesses a treasure chest of draft picks that will be more than useful down the line.
Because of the current situation and the assets down the line, many assume the Thunder will be linked to any star wanting a trade soon. Presti spoke on that at his press conference.
"You can't buy the paint for your house that you haven't bought yet," Presti said. "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.
"We don't really know what we have right now, so to even say — this is very broad, but a star. Where? Who's to say we don't have a player that could be really good in that spot already? We don't know the answer to that. I don't know.”
Essentially Presti is saying it’s important to evaluate the talent you have before going out and making a trade. Gilgeous-Alexander is the perfect example of patient development while turning into a star. If the Thunder hit the accelerate button too fast, they could miss out on a home grown star developing in Oklahoma City.
“The second thing is, again, I'm not trying to dismiss everyone's excitement, but we're not a .500 team,” Presti said. “Like I said earlier, we have to finish our breakfast before we start acting like we're on the cusp of something. I think this is, again, part of the headwinds that you face as a young team. I wouldn't want to "cash in" to become average or above average."
The Thunder widely exceeded expectations a season ago, but still finished the year below .500. The play-in appearance was certainly a start, but there’s still a long ways to go.
Management has made it clear that the team is trying to position itself for the long haul — not just a good season or two. With patience and the right fit, Oklahoma City’s roster could develop into a powerhouse for years to come.
“Then the other thing I say, and I think this is really important, is we can't let the fact that we have some additional draft capital make us soft. You don't want to lose your industriousness. We can't cut corners here. It doesn't matter if we do this or we do that because we have these tools that are just going to solve everything. I don't know how many times people have gone - I'm not sure exactly the nomenclature of all-in or cash your chips in. I don't know what that means.
“When I think about that, I think about a gambling scenario, which again, doesn't jive with sustainable success. It jives with like gambling, live-or-die, lose the house, go home and explain it to your significant other. I don't want us to rely on that like it's some type of panacea, because one, I don't know how often it's actually worked that someone has done that; and then two, we might need those tools to have a functional payroll over time if our players turn out to be as good as some people are projecting.”
Presti said all the things he’s been saying since the start of this rebuild. One promising season of clear improvement and success doesn’t change the organization’s overall direction. Not cutting corners and doing things the right way has already gotten them this far, so there’s no need to take a detour now.
Down the line, if something’s not quite working and the title window is open, sure, Presti could be inclined to make a move. But luckily for Thunder fans, that’s an area of his expertise (see Paul George trade.) The Thunder could end up trading for a star later on, but in the same breath, the team could have a budding star on the roster that eventually puts all those rumors to rest. As Presti said on Wednesday, it’s time to enjoy the ride.
“But 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,” Presti said regarding a future trade. “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.”
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