Sam Presti Unfiltered

Sam Presti

Press Conference

SAM PRESTI: First, I just want to thank everybody for being with us here today. Obviously this is the first opportunity that I've had personally to address the issues stemming from the systemic racism that has been at play in our country over hundreds and hundreds of years, and obviously with the murder of George Floyd recently, everybody has had an opportunity to voice their feelings on this, and I think it's appropriate for me to do that today.

I've thought a lot about how I wanted to use my words and the way I feel. Obviously it's an extraordinarily sad moment for our country and for I think a lot of us as individuals to realize that there's so much more opportunity for us to do more than we've been willing to.

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I don't really have the words. I don't have them. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, either, in these situations, because I think what we need more now than words are actions. And the steps that we often take in these situations often revert to short-term solutions to what is really a problem that's plagued this country for centuries.

The steps that we often take are steps to soothe, when, in fact, what we're doing is failing to heal, and I think that's something that we as a nation really need to let sink in.

Of course, we have to listen, but the goal of listening is not to soothe the listener, it's to equip the listener to act and to lift those up that are doing the speaking, in this case, our black community that is voicing the real issues of social mobility, police brutality, socioeconomic disparity. These things are part of the fabric of our country, and I think that we also have to take heart that it's also part of our responsibility to work to affect them in a positive fashion.

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I don't think it's bad for us to sit with this and be ashamed of it. I don't think it's bad at all. I think it's actually probably helpful because what it can do to inspire us to take a different path than maybe we've taken in the past and really work for long-ranging plans that can impact things in a positive way to be scaled beyond a month or a conversation or a session.

A lot is said about conversations and those conversations are extraordinarily important, but I think the most important conversation that all of us, myself included, need to have is a conversation with an audience of one, that audience being yourself. Where do you stand on the issue of race and equality in the United States? It's not enough for all of us to believe inequality. It's what we're willing to do to sacrifice to battle the racism that threatens that equality.

As we say, all change is local, and I really do believe that, and in this case that starts in all of our homes, how we raise our children and how we treat one another. Our kids don't come into the world with this mentality. It's a learned trait, and as we teach our children, all of us, the importance of equality, the importance of justice, we also now have to take to heart that we need to teach them not only that it's okay

-- not that it's okay, that you should be focused on those things, but you should be also fighting and equipping them with the tools to beat back racism when they confront it, hear it or see it, and those are two really totally separate issues.

As an organization, we've done our work on this, but we haven't done enough, and I don't know that you can ever do enough in this area. As I said earlier, the short- term solutions or the half measures, are not getting the outcomes and results that we need to have. So it's my hope and belief that a year from now we'll be sitting here and being able to recount for you the steps that have been taken, the actions that have been taken, the change that we have tried to effect and hopefully have effected, and the fact that its scalable change, and not a response, which I think sometimes we find ourselves kind of cuddled up to all across the country.

Really what I'm trying to say is when the protests dissipate and slow, and the anger turns to sadness and sorrow; that is when the work of an organization like the Thunder or any organization should be building to its crescendo. That's when we should be doing our best work so we can make this meaningful and not just short-term.

Meaningful change doesn't come from listening alone, it comes from the lessons learned from that listening, and what do you do with that to pull other people up, to

recognize the bias in yourself and to throw yourself into the action and the sacrifice that's necessary to affect the future.

This really should be something that is pulling our country together, and in reality, we know that there are people that want it to tear it apart, but I have a lot of hope that as an organization we're going to be able to take more long-term steps in this area. We have to be thoughtful about it, but I would ask everyone to hold us accountable in this area and to what I'm saying because I believe we're going to be able to make a scalable change going forward.

I'd like to think and I really truly believe in my heart that the Thunder is all about bringing people together, and it's about lifting people up, and those words are hollow, obviously, until the actions consistently back that up, and we're prepared to do that.

It's obviously an extraordinarily sad time for us as a country, but we have to think longer, harder, and be willing to go further than we have in the past, all of us, but it starts with a conversation of one and builds on from there.

Q. You talk about obviously things that you've been thinking about. Obviously this is a weird time with players and personnel spread all over, but what have you talked with players and coaches about as it relates to the ongoing discussions of race and policing in America, and what have those conversations been like, and what have they expressed to you about this time?

SAM PRESTI: Well, I think the first thing is that when we entered this hiatus, we did it as an organization with one specific goal, and that was to come out of this more connected, to be checking on each other and supporting one another on a consistent basis as a unified group of people because we were going into a space that we had never experienced before.

Obviously, with the events reverberating from the murder of George Floyd, that's taken on like another meaning. We've had conversations with our players on our weekly Zoom calls, text exchanges, people have shared experiences. But I'm also proud of the fact that a lot of this dialogue is taking place within our organization in conversations, not just because of these horrific events, and that we have the kind of environment where we can have that conversation with the group.

But I do think that listening is critical and important, and everybody has a story that they can share that is just horrifying when you think about it. And we'll continue to encourage that type of sharing.

But I think the thing that I'm trying to -- I was trying to express earlier is what we take from the listening and we take from these moments has to drive sustainable change once the moment starts to cease a little bit, and that's what we're taking our time thinking about, and we'll continue to spend time with our players and our staff on what does it look like for us to scale this over a period of years and not just let it be a short-term solution to something that's been so systemic, and I think there's an opportunity there.

Q. Sam, as an organization, what do you believe a team like the Thunder or any NBA team owes to its community when it comes to battling systemic racism and just confronting what people may see as over-policing in the community?

SAM PRESTI: I think, number one, a forum to communicate; number two, education; number three, an action that can be scaled to actually effect change over a long period of time relative to some of the things that you mentioned but also things like an opportunity, social mobility.

I think certainly awareness, but I think if we're discussing whether or not we have this problem in the country, then you have to have your head examined because it's clearly an issue. But I think the thing that, again -- I'm just trying to speak from my heart here. I think to come up with something like extraordinarily fast in response, I don't know that that is giving organizations -- I don't think we have gotten the outcomes or the results that we'd like to see. So I think taking time to think about how to actually do something that we can then measure and say, okay, well, what did we get done with this plan versus just create the dialogue. We've got to create the dialogue, and from the dialogue, we've got to then drive a plan that we can look at, and anything that's going to create the kind of change that we want, that we all want, is going to take some time. But we have to set some benchmarks and say here's where we want to be and here's how we want to report back and say this is what's important to us.

So I feel like to give you a concrete example today would almost feel like I'm falling into the short-term trap of a solution for what is a centuries-old issue, and we haven't gotten where we want to go with that. But I do think there are all kinds of opportunities to raise awareness, education and hold ourselves to account, as well, because I think it's a good thing. I don't say that as a challenge to ourselves. I think that's going to be something that we want because I think we're going to come up with a very sustainable action plan, and we're working on it.

Q. Not to get too far off track, but can you give us an update on where Andre Robertson is and if he's going to be available to play once you all restart in Orlando?

SAM PRESTI: Yep. So obviously the time has really helped Dre. From a health standpoint, he's doing really well. The issues that we're facing is that we have not had the opportunity to see him on the court in real basketball activity because everything is relegated to the 1-on-0 still. I think we're in a better place than we were March 11th, that's for sure, but we don't know exactly where he'll be once we get down to actually participating in contact and going through team practices and things of that nature.

But we're certainly hopeful, but we've got to cross that next bridge. I think it's clear that if we're able to get him back, he's a winning player, so he will help us if we can. But we also have to kind of ease our way into that to get the answers that you're asking.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about the return-to-play format and when you were filling out the survey and in discussions with the league, what was the plan you were comfortable with, and what do you think of the current plan that was approved?

SAM PRESTI: Kind of like what I said the last time we were together; the format is not really a concern for us. We were going to go with whatever was best for the league. You know, we'll play anywhere, so we're perfectly happy with what the league chose to go with. I think everyone has to be. There's no choice.

The one thing about this format or this event is that it's

-- everyone is dealing with the same thing, so as competitors, that should be all you ask for.

Q. I wanted to ask about your reaction to the playoff format and just the plan, to have finally finalized a plan to get everybody in Orlando and play basketball again.

SAM PRESTI: Yeah, I think being there is I think going to be a great thing to be a part of something like that. We don't have any idea what this is going to be like, so we're going in with no preconceived notions other than we're going to have to be adaptable, and we're going to have to get comfortable with the fact that things are not going to be the way we're used to them being. Once you get past that, I think you can get into the kind of really embracing that kind of like uncertainty, because as I said earlier, everyone is dealing with that.

But I think everybody is excited about getting back to play basketball. The chief concern for everybody had been and will continue to be the health and safety of everybody that's going down there, but our trust is placed in the NBA and the NBA's work with city and I

guess county officials in Florida, and we're looking forward to it.

Q. Just wanted to ask you about maybe one of the more unconventional ways that you guys have clinched a playoff berth during the time in OKC in just now 10 out of 11 years, and with the roster turnover and kind of change of leadership on the floor and the gelling that needed to happen, your thoughts on this specific group getting a chance to play in the postseason.

SAM PRESTI: I think it's great. It's been a great group of guys, and our players and our coaches have done a really good job of, I think, looking at the season as a whole and not getting like too high or too low as the season had rolled around. Everybody has contributed. You know, and I don't think any of us had an idea where we would be, quite frankly. We certainly didn't expect to be in the situation that we're in going down to Orlando. No one predicted that. But as I said at the beginning of the season, I think someone asked me -- I don't know what the question was, but I remember using the term "meaningful games." We wanted to play meaningful games, and I think we're doing that, and that's a testament to the players and the coaches, and now we have the opportunity to go down there and see where we can take that.

Q. I was wondering if there's any clarity with the two-way players, specifically with Lu Dort and the ability of those guys as it pertains to the Playoffs and signing a contract to be eligible for the postseason?

SAM PRESTI: Yeah, I appreciate the question. I think we're awaiting some clarity on that. We don't have it yet officially. Obviously, there are still conversations taking place between the Players' Association and the league, and those things have to be finalized, but clearly that's something that we're focused on to try to learn and interpret, and we have plenty of time before we're actually going to be heading down to Orlando.

Those things will clarify themselves. I wish I had something I could give you to report on them specifically, but I don't have that yet.

Q. You spoke a little bit about being surprised -- you didn't know this team was going to be this good. Do you think that anybody thought this team was going to be good? Was it surprising even to you how successful this team has been this year? SAM PRESTI: Well, I'm hesitant to answer this question for this reason: Because the season is far from over, hopefully, so I wouldn't want to like a label or qualify the team now. I would just say that we've had teams over the years that people placed enormous expectations on, and we've had teams over the years

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where people have placed low expectations on. At the end of the day, those expectations are pretty irrelevant because you have to play the season, and when you get to the end of the season, you get to reflect back on how you internally kind of felt about the things you could control, the things you couldn't control, and whether or not you feel like you were playing up to your capabilities.

I would only say that there was so much unknown to this team that we're still discovering a lot about it, and a lot of the way we were playing, even when we were in the hiatus -- or prior to the hiatus, was a lot of abstract factors that were really coming together for us at the right time.

We have to go down to Orlando and put our best foot forward and try to recreate the base or foundation of the things that were successful for us. Once we finish out the year, we'll be able to look back on it in totality. I don't know that we'll ever see another season with a three-month break in the middle where no one is playing basketball and we're going to a neutral site. It's going to be unique, and I think it would be easy to be upset with that in certain ways, but I think we've got to embrace it and look at it as a massive opportunity to be a part of something that may never happen again, and you've got to see what happens. I just think -- I have a lot of confidence in the group that they'll respond in those circumstances because they've been adjustable and adaptable throughout the year, and we're going to need to do that again.

Q. Is there a chance that Mo Cheeks or anybody else from the coaching staff won't be able to sit on the bench? And two, just to clarify on Lu Dort, was it your intent to sign him to a full NBA contract had the season not been interrupted the way it was? SAM PRESTI: Sure, so first question, we're still waiting for all of the different protocols to be presented to us in terms of who goes and who doesn't go, et cetera, et cetera. I think part of that, there will be physicians involved in all of those protocols. We're going to be bringing a very limited amount of people there, but again, that doesn't bother us because everybody is coming with the same amount of people, so that doesn't matter. We'll make it work.

We don't have clarity on that yet in terms of like who's going and not because they're still working through how many of the spots the team has flexibility over, and then from there I think there's probably some other steps that have to be taken by the party that's traveling.

Second question was about Lu, was it our intent. Certainly we were going to look at all ways to figure that out, but we never -- obviously we didn't get to that point. We had to look at what these new procedures

could potentially be. As I said before, I don't know what they are. But now we have to just see what the options are and then make our best decision there, but he's clearly someone that we want to have with us going forward, and that would be my expectation. That would be my hope. That could be something that happens in the short-term, it could be something that happens later, I don't know. We're just in an uncertain time. But certainly he's a guy that we'd love to have with us, and we'll work to find ways to make that happen.

Q. This relates to return to play. We understand that Klay was a voice for some of the small market teams in the discussions leading up to the vote last week. Everybody is dealing with financial issues right now, from the biggest markets to smallest, but with that sort of maybe impacting small-market teams differently, how do you anticipate your job changing with budget constraints and those sorts of things?

SAM PRESTI: You know, it's obviously the same thing that every company, organization, business is experiencing. We're in a bit of unknown territory. The extent of that I think is still on going because of the fact that we're in this right now, but we also have future seasons to play, as well, but we don't necessarily -- we can't necessarily predict what the future looks like in those areas.

But certainly like any team, or most teams, we've got to be resourceful and figure out ways to work within the parameters that we have. I wish I could be more specific. I would just tell you, like for sure it's going to affect us like it's going to affect any other business. But the extent, I think, is somewhat unknown because there's still a lot to be determined relative to the following season.

Different than baseball because this present season for us, we were able to play a large portion of our season, and we're going to finish that out with eight games plus the Playoffs, so we're kind of completing something. I don't know if we're continuing it, but we're going to have the chance to build off of the first -- the 80 percent of what it is that we started or we got through, and then some of the other sports that we're looking at right now, they're just trying to start, and so that's a whole different situation.

We're going to be in that situation for the following year, but we're just far away from that right now. I think we're just trying to get to the completion of this season.

Q. With Chris being in the middle of all of these discussions and his role as president of the Players' Association, what does it say about his leadership through all this, and how does it make

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you feel, him being a representative of your organization?

SAM PRESTI: Yeah, I think, number one, I think he's done a fabulous job. I've been able to see just how hard he's worked at this, and he has. I think he's really taken it seriously and thrown himself into really helping lead the players that he has been tasked to represent. I think he's really invested in it, and I really respect that.

I think it's also, like you said earlier, certainly great to have that caliber of leader playing for your team. We had Fish here, as well, at one time, and I don't know if he was the president at the time, but he was at one time the president of the Players' Union, as well, and we've had other players over the years that have been active in it. But certainly Chris has been integral to everything that's going on in terms of us being able to come back.

I just think the union and the league have done a great job working through this, and they deserve a lot of credit for that partnership.

Q. A couple of questions about the eight games once you get down to Orlando. How important is it in terms of winning to have a certain seed? Is seeding that big a deal to you? And can you talk about the scheduling, the teams that you'll be playing in Orlando before the Playoffs.

SAM PRESTI: With regard to seeding, I don't know, it's hard to -- it's important. My personal feeling on like seeding and things of that nature is you have to be playing well, so playing well is really important. I look at the season, and I look at the game as every game is a building process to sharpen habits, to develop chemistry, to work towards hopefully peak-level play in meaningful games so that when you get into adverse situations, you're not recreating the wheel but you have a base to work off of, and we've always felt that way. I do think that's one of the things that's helped us over the years is seeing that it's an 82-game season, not being too reactionary, and recognizing that there will be lulls in a season, there will be times where you're winning games that maybe you shouldn't be winning. Schedule plays a huge factor in that in terms of there are some games you show up, and you might get in at 4:00 in the morning and the other team has been rested for three days. Seeing a bigger picture and that we're working towards a better end product, we want to be a better team generally in April than in November or December, and sometimes you have to take your time to get to that point.

So therefore like in this instance, it's very interesting because eight games is not a big body of time because you're kind of having to start that early and you're condensing a lot into eight games, especially because

nobody has played basketball for quite a long time. Well, I mean, I'm sure there's some people that have played basketball, but as a group in an organized fashion they haven't.

So it's going to be newfound territory. I think we can't get disturbed by the start. I think it's how are we using those eight games to prepare ourselves for whatever opponent we play I think is really important and really tapping back in to the fundamentals that are important to playing winning basketball.

I think there's two things that we always fall back on; one is fundamentals and two is hard work because hard work is the way you build chemistry, and working hard with other people side-by-side builds chemistry within a group, and fundamentals, at the end of the day, they're the most important thing. If those things are being taken care of, the seeding will take care of itself. And we don't know the format down there in terms of there's no travel; it's just so different.

The question about the schedule, again, I got bits and pieces of things, but I don't have hard information about what it really is. So this is the reality of the situation we're in is like I would love to give you more information. I'd rather stand here and say I don't know. I do think it will look something like the schedule we had left remaining, but you've also got a lot of other factors. You've got teams not being there, other teams needing a certain amount of games to play. So it will look slightly different, but I can't give you an answer on that. All I can say is we're going to play eight games, and we've got to use those eight games to become the best basketball team we can in that amount of time, and I think playing quality opponents helps that.

Q. With the loss of revenue that's going to be projected with not having home games, not having playoff games, how do you think this is ultimately going to affect small markets versus the larger markets say like an LA compared to an Oklahoma City or a San Francisco compared to an Oklahoma City? How detrimental do you think this is for teams like yourselves or the Milwaukees or the New Orleanses of the NBA?

SAM PRESTI: I think that's an extremely complex question. There's so many factors involved in this, and I also have to be sensitive to the fact that the league really doesn't want us talking about financial matters, revenue sharing, things related to the cap and tax in the future, and I want to respect that.

But clearly there's a big disparity there for geographical reasons for the most part. How that plays out and how that's affecting certain teams, I think we're in a bit of a wait-and-see on that, other than to say that there's

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going to be some uncertainty and there's going to be some strain, certainly in some of the cities that don't produce the same revenue just by opening the door up.

We have to be mindful of that, but I also -- we can't predict the future, so we don't know where things are going to ultimately land, and I don't want to -- I've always said, those are realities, but we don't use those as -- we're not using those as excuses, but they are financial realities that we know they're coming, but we just don't know to what extent. There will be more on that coming once we get to the conclusion of this season and we have a better outlook on things, and I think the league as a whole will have a better outlook on things.

But I think everybody knows that there's a large difference based on where the teams are based. That has been the case for years. It's probably just more magnified when you're going through something like this because it affects the system as a whole.

Q. Just curious about your emotional reaction, I guess, to we finally officially have the season coming back, kind of when it's going to happen. Are you excited about it; heck yeah, let's get on the court? Or is that subdued a little bit by there's the safety concerns; you don't know what the format is going to be?

SAM PRESTI: I mean, we're a basketball team, and our job is to play basketball, and I think a lot of good can come out of playing basketball, as long as it's in the right conditions and the right setting, and again, we've placed our trust in the NBA and the state officials in Florida. There's been so much work that's gone into that. I'm not privy to all of it, but I trust those people implicitly. We'll have chance to review everything when it's completed. We're certainly excited, but we also can't lose sight of the other issues that are taking place in the country just in general. There's so many things that are taking place and there's a lot of -- the country has been through a lot the last few months, and I think we have to be sensitive to that, as well, that this is a game, it's a sport, it's entertainment, and it's awesome that we can do this because I do think it's helpful, but it's still a game, and these other issues -- what we've got to make sure of is that these other issues don't get ignored because there's something else to focus on.

And that's why there's so much opportunity for teams to scale change and have sustainable change over time on these topics.

So certainly excited about the opportunity to represent the state of Oklahoma in this unique event in Orlando, and I'm excited for our players because they want to play and they're excited by that. But also there's a lot of other work to do in these other areas, as well, and I

think we can't lose sight of that.

Q. As someone who has watched Oklahoma City grow over the last 10 years or 11 years or so, what was it like for you individually to watch not only the protests but the civil unrest that took place over the last week and especially last weekend? What was going through your mind as you were watching everything that was unfolding?

SAM PRESTI: Ooh, these last few questions have been really -- these have been great questions. I just have a lot of respect for the people that protested peacefully, which I think is a great statement. I think that it's important that people recognize the peaceful avenue that's been taken in a lot of places because that I think has the most effect, and I support those people, anybody that uses their voice in that way.

I think, as I said earlier, there is a lot of listening that's taking place, and I think that's essential to growth, but the listening isn't for -- isn't to soothe the listener, it's to inform the listener as to how they can help those that are asking for help and expressing themselves, and I think this is where the next opportunity resides, and doing that thoughtfully is really important.

You know, I also think that -- I've learned quite a bit from this, and I have a long way to go myself, but with respect to the Tulsa Race Massacre, we were just having conversations on the anniversary of that about these really, really challenging topics. I took the chance to drive up there the other day just to see that area and see the Greenwood District. I hadn't done that, and that was extraordinarily informative.

I think this is the time, like I said before, that conversations are critical. The most important conversation is with an audience of one, which is yourself, and what do you do not in the immediate but what are we doing six months from now, what are we doing a year from now, what are we doing three years from now, and how is that being connected to the feelings and emotions that we all have right now. For me, I was astounded when I was in Tulsa learning about that, and I'm going to learn more about it because I think it's a fascinating piece of history in a lot of different ways, and I just think there's more -- as an organization, I do feel like we've put our best foot forward in the community, but we can do more, and I think we should. I think it's healthy to say that.

I also think it's healthy to say we don't have all the answers at the moment, but the listening is not for people like myself. It's not to make me feel good. It's to, okay, where can we make some change here and what sacrifices are we willing to make to lift others because if you're a leader or if you're a person that believes in

equality, then you're definitely saying that you're here to lift others, and how you contribute to others, I think there's an opportunity here, and I also have a lot of faith and belief in Oklahoma and Oklahoma City and the community that we'll run harder and longer than we have on this topic, and I think it will be for positive reasons.

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