It was pretty well known that without the lockout being officially over, that when Sam Presti addressed the media Wednesday night, he wasn’t going to be able to say very much.
And when his 10-minute session wrapped up, I thought, “Well, it really wasn’t much different than a non-lockout Presti presser.”
Here it is summarized: “We’re excited about the season … this is a really unique situation … we’re excited about the season … I can’t really answer that … I don’t know … we’re excited about the season.”
Teams have been permitted to reach out to player representatives though and with Russell Westbrook up for an extension, Presti was asked about that.
“In relation to our players we can’t talk directly to any of them and haven’t been able to, but today we were able to reach out to their representatives and did a pretty decent job at that,” Presti said.
As for maybe reaching out to other representatives that aren’t on the Thunder roster, Presti said that he’s doing his part.
“Part of my job at this point in time, is to have a little bit of a pulse what’s going within the market,” he said. “Today’s no different. We’re going to make a lot of phone calls to understand if there’s ways for us to improve or even if there’s ways just to take stock what’s going on.
“We’re going to do our due diligence and make a lot of phone calls.”
Presti was asked about if a shortened season would play to the Thunder’s advantage especially with the crammed time there is from now until the games start.
“I think continuity will help us but we have to take advantage of it also,” he said.
Finally, he was asked if he’s got any Christmas plans, wink wink.
“You know I don’t know. I like Christmas. It’s a great holiday. Hopefully there will be some gifts there under the tree at some point. To be honest with you, for me and for everyone that loves basketball as much as I do and this city does, just having the team back on the floor is quite a gift in of itself.”
hmm...wish we could cough up some mad money and get CP3 and keep Russell as well. Then clone Collison, who is a great defensive player, and we could be a dynasty. Of course we would have to get rid of the entire bench to pay for it.....
Just dreaming..
On a side note, let's presume that Portland uses their Amnesty on Brandon Roy. Wouldn't he be a perfect fit on our bench? He can create and shoot much like Harden did off the bench. He literally cannot play starter minutes anymore, and he must know that. Nobody can realistically pay him starter money knowing that as well. So let's say he costs 3-6 million a year. Would you want him, and would you think him worth the money?
Personally, I think it makes a lot more sense than Battier.
@Keith00 I think he'll get more than $3-6 million. And I don't think he would be okay coming off the bench. He would likely choose a destination where he doesn't have a player like James Harden to compete for minutes with. If there was an injured Portland player I'd rather take a chance on, it's Greg Oden.
@Keith00 I don't want Roy based on attitude alone. If we're taking a chance on an offensive wing with injury issues for a handful of spot minutes per game then we might as well take Redd who is by all accounts a consummate professional and not a guy who whines about his situation every time there is a mic in his face.
@Keith00 I wouldn't take the chance on him. He was horrible last year besides the miracle playoff moments and everything I've read indicates he'll get worse before he gets better.
I'm not a fan of Battier on the team because I don't think what he brings to the table (plus defense, but going downhill, and mediocre offense) are really what we need. I think we need more ball-handlers and passers on the wings. Roy fits that bill, but yeah the knees are certainly an issue.
@JimboSlice@Keith00 One particular bonus having Battier would bring is that other teams wouldn't. That alone makes Durant more dangerous.
@Keith00 I like Roy a lot as a player but I'm iffy on his fit for us. Defensively I think even if his knees don't shut him down, he will become more of a liability as the season progresses, and may end up not being worth even the 3-6 mil he could command. I like T-Mac much better because the risk is similar, if not less, but T-Mac is likely a 1-2 mil hit as opposed to 3-6.
I'm not sold on Battier, but only because I want him as a replacement for Thabo and not a compliment
@Keith00 Hes a huge upgrade from Sef on every front. I rather he replace him entire, rather than split time.
@Keith00 Im not sure about more sense than Battier, but I like the idea on the table
I wish we, instead of Chicago, would have got Jimmy Butler
Lol
“You know I don’t know. I like Christmas. It’s a great holiday. Hopefully there will be some gifts there under the tree at some point."
is a total bob stoops quote
Id take Luke Babbit too
And whats Utah doing with Derek Favors? they should be grooming him as a No 1 PF. Kanter just gonna bounce around between 4 and 5
Id like to add Chris Douglas Roberts
Is Minnesota interested in gettting rid of Wesley Johnson or Anthony randolph? Sef, Maynor, Mullens on the Table. Hey, maybe they would liek Mullens since overrated young Centers seem to be reborn there
@Lambchop David Khan wants a 12 man roster of players that play the same position, so unless we can offer him Nate, Maynor, and Ivey, he's not dealing lol
@JimboSlice @Daniel Plainview lol best comment ive read all day
May I just say I'm so glad DT is back. Class today has been awesome
@JimboSlice Hahaha! I know, coming here is like coming in from teh cold to sit by the fire and think about the Thunder and a world Championship
Is Wilson Chandler stuck in China for the season? R Lewis isnt gonna get the Amnesty Clause, is tehre a likely hood we could nab him?
the chinese season ends in march, so even if he is stuck over there, they will get him for a month, which might be enough to get them in the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed.
@Lambchop While he's not worth the contract he has, I'd probably say Lewis is out of our price range. And pretty sure Chandler is stuck for the season
Also, Bynum on table. Maynor, Mullens and Nate?
@Lambchop I think Kupchak would pee himself laughing at that offer
@JimboSlice They absolutely need a point guard. Oops, I mean to throw Perkins in there, not Mullens, but throw him in there too
@Lambchop for that they might be interested, but I don't think losing Maynor would be quite worth it for that upgrade (until we get a better assessment of Perk this year). That, and Perk literally hates the Lakers
Rumor is Monta for Gay. I think that would befit both teams tremendously.
@Lambchop Golden State would be fist pumping so hard if they got Rudy. But I can't see Memphis liking that very much unless they move Mayo
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Sam Presti loves the soap opera portion of the NBA as much or more than all of us do. He portrays an image of all business, but I think he eats up all of the rumors and storys just like the next guy.
Is there a hall of fame for GMs? If so, he's going to be a shoe-in.
@In_OKC Perhaps. I had teh sneaking suspicion that he leaked a rumor that he was going after Thabeet so others woudl
jump on it. No insider proposed he was after Perkins.. All by design?
@Lambchop
I agree. It's not as simple as it looks. Never is.
@In_OKC @Daniel Plainview no one knows, hes just like one of those things you just dont questioned.
So have we put the whole Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook thing to rest? Because Chris Broussard is reporting that CP3 wants to go to the Knicks, Clippers, Hawks or yes, the Thunder. If Russ is now going to demand a max contract, I think I'd rather have Chris Paul for the same money. He is still only 26 and unlike Westbrook, I believe he is truly deserving of a max deal. He would likely fit in better with KD, already knows and loves the city and New Orleans would probably do that deal.
@Daniel Hawaii Also, most of the reports yesterday said Paul would not sign an extension if traded, so he's probably not going anywhere until he hits free agency.
@sammasaaron Reports yesterday said Paul would not sign an extension WITH BOSTON if traded there. Chris Broussard seemed to suggest that Paul WOULD be willing to sign long-term with OKC because of the young talent on the roster. Boston doesn't have young talent.
@Daniel Hawaii How helpful would it be to Thunder, to put the idea in Russell's ( or more importantly , Russell's agent ) head that he could be traded to the Hornets ?
@Hermit@Daniel Hawaii I would think it would hurt. If he felt the organization was disloyal to him, he'd be more inclined to wait this year out, get a second All-NBA selection, and then be eligible for a veteran max contract instead of just the regular max he could get by extending right now.
@Hermit@Daniel Hawaii O ok. So you're saying it would help if the media leaked the possibility of him being traded, not the organization giving that to Russ, right?
In that case, I don't think it'd really help or hurt all that much. The media's been talking "trade Russ" all summer, so I don't think a new rumor would probably effect his decisions all that differently.
@JimboSlice@Daniel Hawaii Presti would deny, the idea is put there from other sources. What GM's tell players is not the same as what gets leaked. RW has no way of knowing, all players live with that uncertainty.
@Daniel Hawaii I would be shawked , I say SHAWKED ... if the NBA traded CP while they still own the team.
That is not going to happen. The backlash would be huge. And I can't imagine any type of process they could form, that would make it possible. Are they going to form some objective , impartial committee of NBA execs to approve the decision ?
Besides, I would reject anything we've heard/read in the past 24 hours or the next 48 hours. One ..... they do not have a final CBA, and two, there's a ton of posturing and negotiating in process.
@Daniel Hawaii
I know CP3 played in OKC for a couple of years, but I don't see him committing to signing a deal to the Thunder if he's dealt.
Chad Ford of ESPN Insider on the new CBA's effect on the Thunder:
How it helps: The designated player rule will make it easier for OKC to fend off bids for James Harden -- if he becomes as good as most suspect he will -- when he becomes a free agent in two years … provided they don't have to use it on Russell Westbrook first. My reading of the rule is that they won't since, financially, a max extension with the Thunder would be much more lucrative for the point guard. More on that in a second.
How it hurts: Let us count the ways. First, they gave every bad GM a mulligan with an amnesty rule that, by dint of his never signing a bad contract, Oklahoma City's Sam Presti will likely never have to use.
Second, they stuck the knife in by suddenly making max extensions for Kevin Durant and Westbrook several million dollars more expensive than the Thunder had any reason to expect.
Third, by waiting two years before punitive luxury-tax rules kick in, the new CBA allows rivals in Dallas and L.A. to continue outspending OKC by a factor of 2-1 or so this season and next, just as the Thunder are peaking and trying to win the West.
And fourth, with Westbrook now having about 10 million reasons to make either the All-NBA first, second or third team this season and get the more lucrative rookie extension available to players who do so twice in their first four seasons, the alpha-dog tension between him and Durant will only worsen.
Immediate impact (this season): No change. The Thunder will make a couple of small-change moves for a backup small forward (either re-signing Daequan Cook or going after a role-playing vet like Shane Battier) and hope for the best with the Westbrook-Durant partnership.
Long-term impact (future seasons): It just got a lot harder to keep Serge Ibaka two years from now, since the price on the max deals for Durant and Westbrook just went up and I'm guessing Harden will be the first priority from the 2009 class. While revenue sharing will help a bit, it's hard to imagine this small-market franchise retaining four players with $10 million-plus contracts and a fifth (Kendrick Perkins) not too far away.
@Daniel Hawaii If not mistaken, but the max level went from 25% to 30% for only one player .
Interesting: Tyson Chandler doesn't think he'll return to the Mavs.
http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/7300682/tyson-chandler-dallas-mavericks-says-expects-a-new-team-come-training-camp
@Daniel Hawaii I think Tyson is working for more money from Cuban.
Id trade Maynor and Perk for him right now
@Lambchop Except there's no one to trade with. Chandler is a free agent.
@Daniel Hawaii@Lambchop I think with Cuban just asking might have worked.
@Lambchop Yup, I would do that deal too. Maynor is expendable with Reggie Jackson in the fold and I think Chandler is an upgrade over Perkins.
@Hermit@Daniel Hawaii This is fair, but if theres trouble, Harden can always step in, and Ivey and Nate Rob are still on the Roster. just not yet sold on Perkins value and chemistry
@Daniel Hawaii@Lambchop How do you know Maynor is expendable, without ever having seen RJ play ?
Methinks, y'all gettin ahead of yourselves.