Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Brandon Rahbar: Sam Presti on Russell Westbrook: “Many players make an impact but only great players leave a legacy. Russell Westbrook’s legacy was built both on the court and in the community. His mindset was relentless, his commitment deep. For all those reasons, Oklahomans consider him one of their own and his number will be raised to the rafters, in Oklahoma City forever.”
ESPN: When the Thunder won in 2025 and had the parade in downtown Oklahoma City, was there any part of you that was happy for the community to experience that? Kevin Durant: Most definitely. I mean, when we lost in 2012, we almost had like a small parade. So many people came and welcomed us back home and showed us so much love and congratulated us on a great season. I knew at that moment, if the city ever wins a championship, the amount of people that's going to show up for this parade and the energy they're going to have for this parade is going to be insane. ... I wish our [Thunder] team could have been the one to do it because we were young and we showed we could. But I felt the sense of pride of being an alumni of the Thunder, seeing this team win as well, because I felt that's the evolution of what we did. I felt like Sam Presti hit his final form and figured out the best way for him to be. And Shai and Jalen Williams, I just felt like they all hit that mark, and we kind of laid the foundation on what it meant to be successful young players in this league, and they built upon that.
Michael Scotto: Sam Presti on whether he'd call Russell Westbrook out of retirement with Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace out: "I haven't thought about anything relative to the roster spot... We have a tremendous challenge in front of us, but this is what we do and what we signed up for."
Justin Martinez: Sam Presti on the injuries to Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace: “Obviously, tough night last night. There’s no way to paint that differently. We say within our walls all of the time that there’s a difference between being positive and being optimistic. I’m not going to sit up here and say this is exactly where we want to be or this is how we’d like to have it. But at the same time, we’re extremely optimistic about the recovery for both of the players. Most importantly, things could’ve been a lot worse.”
Advertisement
In a day that will be remembered as one of the darkest in NBA franchise history, Sam Presti will try to pick up the pieces in the aftermath. He is set to talk to the media on Monday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. CT. Presumably, about Jalen Williams' status following a catastrophic leg injury.
Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on SGA’s partnership with Sam Presti: “He chooses to act with unbelievable humility and character. It puts everybody in a position of strength, including Sam. And Sam, obviously, that's a two-way relationship. Sam does a great job with Shai as well.”
With that as context, it was interesting to hear Presti lay out the purpose of the second-apron system as it looms in the organization’s future. “What were they intended to do? They were, as I understand it, put in place to even the playing field amongst teams that have an outsized financial advantage in comparison to the majority of the league,” Presti said. “That was the first order of business. We had a three-to-one spending ratio. The teams that were in the three could stay in the three for 10 to 15 years. “The other way to look at this is the aprons are intended to make it so a team’s primary team-building philosophy can’t be spending.”
Justin Martinez: Thomas Sorber said he "feels great" after missing last season due to a torn ACL but trusts the medical staff when it comes to his return to play plan. Sam Presti said Sorber will be limited in training camp.
Advertisement
Clemente Almanza: Sam Presti on SGA's input in roster decisions: "We talk. I wouldn't say regularly. But we have a good dialogue." Said he doesn't want to put him in the position to make him choose between teammates: "I think the best players are problem-solvers and not guys who fan flames."
Ryan Stiles: Rylan Stiles: Sam Presti on 2nd apron: "I think it is polarizing because the people that talk about it all have a point of view as to how they're experiencing it. So I think that's the first thing. I would look at it this way also. Probably shouldn't mention it this way. What were they intended to do? That's the baseline question; what were they intended to do. They were, as I understand it, put into place to even the playing field amongst teams that have an outsized financial advantage in comparison to the majority of the league. That was the first order of business. We had a 3-to-1 spending ratio. The teams that were in the 3 could stay in the 3 for 10 to 15 years. The other way to look at this is the aprons are intended to make it so a team's primary team-building philosophy can't be spending. Another point. Then if you look at when the rules were put in place, they didn't come in all at one time. They were phased in. So what were the things that happened right before the door shut behind everybody? Well, teams in the luxury tax traded for big-name players. Boston was in the tax; they traded for Holiday. Phoenix was in the tax; they traded for Beal and Durant. Clippers traded for Harden. Dallas was in the tax; they traded for Kyrie Irving. Milwaukee was in the tax, and they traded for Lillard. None of those trades could be computed today. The aprons are intended so if you are a high-spending team, you're not in a position to add more talent.
Ryan Stiles: Presti on 2nd apron: "Now, what are they not designed to do? Well, they're not designed to tell a team that may feel in any market that they have a very unique moment in their organizational history to pursue excellence, to say, hey, we might be here for 50 years, maybe more; this five years in the luxury tax may be something we want to be aggressive about because we don't know how many more teams like this we're going to have in said market, wherever that is. This could be anywhere. So the choice is there for the teams to make an educated decision about what they want to pursue or what their tolerance level is for different things. The key, though, is everyone has that opportunity, but teams that could do that for 15 years, that's not possible anymore. So it's kind of giving everybody the same opportunity to make a choice to push in and spend aggressively if they feel they have a team that warrants that. But not everyone can do that, put choice is there. The aprons are so that once you're at that level, you can't add more talent, and I think that's all getting mixed up with the way people present it. That's the most succinct and simple way I can answer that."
Brandon Rahbar: Sam Presti mentions that Jared McCain hasn’t played with Jalen Williams yet. And how that can bring out more in McCain. “He’s [JDub] the force multiplier on our team to me.”