Sam Presti Articles - Page 2

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been the best team in basketball all season long, and they proved that and more during the Western Conference Finals. After getting an epic Game 4 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to take a 3-1 series lead on Monday night, the Thunder made a statement with a dominant 124-94 victory […]

As the Oklahoma City Thunder prepares for Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets, one would think that the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference doesn’t have as much pressure as the other team, but Frank Isola would argue that point. With the Thunder looking for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and others to lead them to the […]

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault started his media availability by congratulating Thunder general manager Sam Presti for winning the 2024-25 Executive of the Year award. After Daigneault took the blame for decisions in Game 1 that helped the Denver Nuggets steal a 1-0 lead in their best-of-7 series, he thanked […]

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has come a long way from a young prospect GM Sam Presti traded for with the Los Angeles Clippers to an ascending MVP candidate. After Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies, where the Thunder defeated their opponent by 51 points, 131-80, Gilgeous-Alexander took a moment to […]

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren wasn’t surprised to learn that the team’s GM Sam Presti and free agent Isaiah Hartenstein reached a deal during the offseason. Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million contract with the Thunder over the summer, giving head coach Mark Daigneault an additional big to his starting lineup. Holmgren revealed Thunder […]

As the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Houston Rockets on Monday night, the team is looking to solidify themselves as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. With superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the Thunder, Stephen A. Smith floats the idea that maybe Kevin Durant should be in the team’s radar if they don’t […]

A surprise late-night trade has created ripples across the NBA landscape. News has broken that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets have made a deal involving draft picks. The Hornets will receive a 2029 second-round selection, while sending a 2030 conditional second rounder to Oklahoma City, according to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel on X, formerly […]

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was reflective after practice on Sunday and mentioned the late Kobe Bryant when he talked about the opportunity Thunder vice president and GM Sam Presti has bestowed upon him. The two-time All-Star is a bonafide star and the face of the franchise. Gilgeous-Alexander ranked in the top five in […]

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti highlighted Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s defensive growth during a recent press interview, emphasizing the guard’s evolution into a two-way player ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season. Presti reflected on the strides Gilgeous-Alexander has made since joining the Thunder, particularly his improvements on the defensive end. In addressing Gilgeous-Alexander’s development, Presti […]

Sam Presti knows that he has a championship-caliber core in the Oklahoma City Thunder already. They have a fairly complete starting five with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge. However, some pieces within the roster need to be changed such that they notch the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy. This is why there may be big moves […]

Former Dayton Flyers center DaRon Holmes II is expected to go in the top half of the upcoming NBA Draft. As one of the top big men in his class, the 21-year-old has reportedly been the apple of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s eye. The club feels so strongly about Holmes that they might have privately […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder bowed out of the playoffs in the second round against the Dallas Mavericks, and while this was undoubtedly an encouraging campaign for the team, fans quickly looked back to the trade deadline as a missed opportunity for the Thunder to reinforce their squad. Their biggest move made was for Gordon Hayward […]

While they didn’t make it as far in the NBA Playoffs as they hoped they would, the Oklahoma City Thunder had a successful season. They were the top-seed in the Western Conference and managed to get to the second-round of the postseason despite being a generally young team. Thunder GM Sam Presti, who’s not afraid […]

Don’t lose sight of the forest through the trees. Falling to Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the revamped Dallas Mavericks in a hard-fought Western Conference Semifinals is still an extremely encouraging sign of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s present and future despite knee-jerk disappointment. It wasn’t even two weeks ago that Oklahoma City absolutely dominated the […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night when they suffered a 117-116 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, but it’s clear the future is bright for them. General manager Sam Presti has made a plethora of great moves to build one of the best rosters in the league, but one move […]

Not a lot of people can say they saw the Oklahoma City Thunder’s rise to the top of the Western Conference this 2023-24 NBA season. Sure, many predicted the Thunder to make the jump. But this big of a leap to the apex of the daunting West? Only a few — and they were likely […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder may ultimately heed increasingly frequent calls to make a consolidation trade. With training camp set to tipoff next week, though, Sam Presti seems much more interested in letting his team’s incredibly promising young core develop and evolve together than breaking it up to chase more wins in 2023-24. “You can’t buy […]

Many have clamored for the Oklahoma City Thunder to add a traditional center to compliment Chet Holmgren, but Thunder general manager Sam Presti said that is not necessarily a focus, because the team does not know who Holmgren is as an NBA player yet. “We have a lot more work to do internally, and the […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to exceed expectations this season. Before the 2022-23 campaign began, many assumed that the team would be in the running for generational 2023 prospect Victor Wembanyama. However, this has not been the case more than one-quarter of the way through the regular season. The Thunder, led by guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander […]

Ever since the Seattle SuperSonics were moved and renamed as the Oklahoma City Thunder, fans clamored for the team to return. Seattle is one of the biggest basketball states in the country, Many want the city to get their NBA team back, as they are a die-hard fan of the game. Well, a familiar face […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been rebuilding for a few years now. Their general manager, Sam Presti, has done a great job of acquiring draft capital. They also have some young talented players on the roster. One such player is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander has recently been rumored to be the next name in the NBA […]

Chet Holmgren made headlines on Thursday for all the wrong reasons after the highly-touted Oklahoma City Thunder rookie was ruled out for what should have been his debut campaign due to a major foot injury. There has been a lot of talk surrounding the issue, and for his part, OKC general manager Sam Presti has […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are finally seeing some of the theoretical pieces of their lengthy rebuild come to life. What started as a journey with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a thousand first-round picks has now yielded pieces that could form an exciting core. Alongside SGA, they’ve added dynamic, positionless talents in the jumbo sized point guard […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are going big-name fishing to add a star this offseason. But the stars they are looking for right now aren’t on the court. They’re in the front office. The Timberwolves are looking into Tim Connelly, the Denver Nuggets’ president, for the same role in Minnesota. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, […]

It’s not preposterous to say that the Russell Westbrook Experiment failed miserably for the Los Angeles Lakers. His fit with the team was like DJ Khaled wearing skinny jeans. Unfortunately for Westbrook, he has been viewed as the scapegoat once again despite playing 78 out of 82 games for the Lakers. His erratic play is […]

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant isn’t afraid to speak his mind. His most recent eye-opening comments involved his former teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors. The superstar made it clear that he is expecting both teams to retire his jersey once he retires from the NBA. Neither team addressed Durant’s bold statement, […]

Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti is well-known around the NBA for his ability to rack up the draft picks and build this franchise for the future. Aside from that, Presti has also drafted numerous talented players over the years who have turned into legitimate superstars including Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. On Saturday at […]

Rebuilding teams with a boatload of draft picks like the Oklahoma City Thunder should always be open to making significant trades. However, that does not mean trading away the best thing your franchise has going for itself. In other words, the Thunder would be out of their minds to move Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. There have been […]

Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder did it again, adding yet another first-round pick to his treasure trove with the Kemba Walker deal. The Thunder are getting the No. 16 pick in 2021 along with Walker and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick. OKC […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder somehow have a stockpile of draft picks over the next decade, at least it seems like it. General manager Sam Presti has overhauled the roster, traded away players, and in turn stockpiled an insane amount of assets as the Thunder aim for a full-fledged rebuild and youth rejuvenation after the failed […]

Obviously, the plan for every re-building team is to stock up on young, promising players and obtain as many future assets as possible. However, it seems that the Oklahoma City Thunder and GM Sam Presti are pretty much hoarding at this point. Following their most recent spoils from the 2021 NBA Trade Deadline, the Thunder […]

As the trade deadline draws closer, teams that want to be buyers naturally become a bit antsier when the trigger has yet to be pulled on any moves. As a result of this, more and more names start popping up as teams do their due diligence to check in with other teams. One name that […]

After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s stellar campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, general manager Sam Presti has identified what exactly the guard needs to do to elevate his game into superstar status. Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists across 34.9 minutes of play. He was one of the main offensive […]

A shortened offseason didn’t prevent most NBA teams from making changes as news of trades, signings, and rumored deals were compressed in just over two weeks from the start of free agency. But no team had more changes this offseason than the Oklahoma City Thunder, which will parade a lineup that is almost unrecognizable from […]

Amid low expectations, the Oklahoma City Thunder have managed to clinch a berth in the NBA Playoffs this year. General manager Sam Presti shared his insights on their overperformance, citing the “randomness” of every NBA season. Entering the 2019-20 NBA season, analysts thought that the Thunder were about to enter a long rebuilding process. After […]

Chris Paul is not just one of the best guards in the NBA, but he’s also doing some good work as the president of the NBPA amid the long hiatus brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the countrywide protests going on. Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti has taken notice and […]

The Chicago Bulls reportedly won’t pursue Sam Presti or Masai Ujiri for their top exec job, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. The Bulls are expected to make front office changes. They plan to seek permission to interview Arturas Karnisovas of the Denver Nuggets and Bobby Webster of the Toronto Raptors. Chicago will not pursue […]

The Chicago Bulls have been on the lookout for potential options to run the front office, with Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti and Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri being two of the most well-regarded options on the list. The Raptors are unlikely to let go of Ujiri. Presti, the next-best […]

The Chicago Bulls are said to be looking to hire a new general manager this summer and Oklahoma City Thunder architect Sam Presti reportedly has a lot of fans in Chicago. According to David Kapman of ESPN 1000, Presti is the Bulls’ No. 1 target in their front office search: https://twitter.com/ChiSportUpdates/status/1234927135715995648   The Bulls are expected […]