1) Trade up: The Thunder have three picks in this draft (two first, one second), plus a couple future ones (their own, the protected Dallas pick). They also have intriguing young talent in Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones III and Reggie Jackson. The pieces are there to cobble together an intriguing trade package and with a lot of executives not sold on the top tier talent in this draft, if the Thunder wanted to move up, it seems the opportunity could be there.

There’s growing buzz that the Thunder are going to explore trading up. My guess as to what they’re after would be a player like Ben McLemore, a Bradley Beal-ish smooth shooting guard. The Thunder of course were enthralled with Beal last season, reportedly twice trying to get him. A lot of mocks have Beal going as high as No. 1 overall and as low as No. 4 overall , with most settling at No. 2 to Orlando. That’s quite a leap, especially since the Magic are likely going to be excited about McLemore, a player that fills a need in a lot of ways.

The only other player I see OKC having enough interest in to move up would be Victor Oladipo. Thabo Sefolosha’s deal expires after next season and Oladipo is kind of the perfect Thunder prospect. Intelligent, tough, hard working and has lots of room to improve. He’s a heady, gritty defender that has a knack for making plays. His offensive game needs some work, but he’s the kind of player that seems poised to blossom.

Maybe they like seven-footer Alex Len, who has risen into the top eight in a lot of projections. Really, those are the only three I can see, unless they feel like Nerlens Noel could slip past No. 1.

But again, if the Thunder are moving in to the top six, they’re going to likely have to part ways with Lamb. And probably Jones. Hypothetical scenario, and I realize the Magic probably say no to this deal: OKC deals Lamb (and Jones, maybe), the No. 12 pick and the No. 29 pick to move up for McLemore. They sign Kevin Martin (or J.J. Redick) to a one-year deal for however much money, basically replaying last season but swapping McLemore for Lamb, sending him to Tulsa and developing him on the end of the bench. Sound good?

One issue I have with that, though: I kind of think Jeremy Lamb could be really good and dealing him feels a little scary to me.

2) Trade out: It really doesn’t make much sense for the Thunder to trade down, so I’m ruling that option out. But they could trade out completely of the first round. Whether it’s for a potentially lottery pick next season or a quality veteran, the Thunder could move their pick. Maybe in a sign-and-trade situation. I don’t get the sense this scenario is very likely, though.

3) Use it. Of course you have to canvas the league and see what possibilities are out there and if there’s something that makes sense, you go for it. But to move up, you have to give things up. And while the Thunder really don’t need that 29th overall pick or that 32nd overall pick, again, in order to jump a few spots they’d probably have to include a young asset like Lamb, Jones or Jackson. Not worth it to me. But that’s mainly because I think Lamb has a whole bunch of offensive upside and I’d almost place Jackson on the untouchable list. (I think he’s that good.)

I kind of look at it this way: If the Thunder are thinking big, and there’s a player in the 12-16 range they like — like possibly Gorgui Dieng or Rudy Gobert — then there’s not a lot of reason to trade up. There’s one apparent big elite talent in Nerlens Noel. After that, there’s not really a top tier big man in this draft that couldn’t potentially fall to 12 anyway.

So like I said, it’s either going for a home run Harden replacement in McLemore or Oladipo (or Shabazz Muhammad, if you’re feeling crazy), or you stand pat and take your favorite available big guy at No. 12. Let’s say the latter happens, which I think is the most likely scenario. Who do the mocks and big boards have available in the 12-20 range?

Draft Express: Kelly Olynyk, Michael Carter-Williams, Dennis Schroder, Sergey Karasev, Steven Adams, Mason Plumlee, Jamaal Franklin, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gorgui Dieng

CBSSports.com: Kelly Olynyk, Shabazz Muhammad, Shane Larkin, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rudy Gobert, Jamal Franklin, Mason Plumlee, Giannis Adetokundo, Allen Crabbe,

SI.com: Dario Saric, Michael Carter-Williams, Jamaal Franklin, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gorgui Dieng, Mason Plumlee, Dennis Schroeder, Tony Mitchell, Steven Adams

ESPN.com: Steven Adams, Dario Saric, Shabazz Muhammad, Allen Crabbe, Dennis Schroeder, Mason Plumlee, Jamaal Franklin, Rudy Gobert, Gorgui Dieng

NBADraft.net: Dennis Schroeder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Carter-Williams, Steven Adams, Shabazz Muhammad, Mason Plumlee, Lucas Nogueira, Tony Snell, Giannis Adetokundo

NBA.com: Kelly Olynyk, C.J. McCollum, Dennis Schroeder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rudy Gobert, Dario Saric, Gorgui Dieng, Sergey Karasev, Jeff Withey

Sporting News: Rudy Gobert, Michael Carter-Williams, Dennis Schroeder, Shabazz Muhammad, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Mason Plumlee, Kelly Olynyk, Jamaal Franklin

SB Nation: Gorgui Dieng, Dennis Schroeder, C.J. McCollum, Sergey Karasev, Tony Mitchell, Allen Crabbe, Mason Plumlee, Reggie Bullock, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

The consensus in that range seems to be: Olynyk, Carter-Williams, Caldwell-Pope, Steven Adams, Mason Plumlee and Dennis Schroeder. But again, my feeling is if the Thunder keep their pick, they’re taking a big. So it’s more Olynyk, Adams, Plumlee, Dieng, and Gobert. And maybe possibly Cody Zeller.

The Thunder’s big man situation isn’t as deep as it might seem on paper (not to mention very good). The Thunder don’t have a great history with drafting bigs (hello, Cole Aldrich) and there’s always the unknown of Tibor Pleiss who is performing well in Spain currently. Or there’s the fact the league is moving a bit more towards smallball and speed, so Serge Ibaka may end up being OKC’s starting center of the future. But still, finding a capable big on a rookie scale deal is priceless in the NBA. And picking at 12 is an open invitation to take a young big man and let him develop. For instance, Gorgui Dieng, who early on, I’m pretty intrigued by.

(Aside: It’s funny how everyone is totally cool with “development” right now. But I promise you next season when OKC’s pick is sent down to Tulsa, people are going to be griping and calling the player a bust. It’s a guarantee. You wait.)

What Presti has right now is flexibility and options. Which is really all he ever wanted with that Harden trade. The 12th pick isn’t as high as I think he hoped it would be, but with assets and young talent, the Thunder at least have an opportunity to explore a bit. Will they move around, do they already have someone in mind at 12? More than a month to speculate and talk about it before we find out. Oh boy.

Chad Ford of ESPN.com has OKC taking Steven Adams: “Adams might have been the big winner of the draft combine. Physically, he looked the part of a future NBA center and displayed a better than expected touch on his jump shot. He looked in terrific shape, hustled on both ends of the floor and reminded everyone why scouts saw him as a potential top-five pick going into his senior year of high school. He’s raw and won’t find any real minutes on the Thunder. But that’s what the D-League is for.”

Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com has OKC with Olynyk: “The Thunder could use another scoring option — and the big Canadian can put up points in the paint and also from the perimeter.”

Chris Mannix of SI.com has OKC taking Dario Saric: “There is increasing chatter among NBA executives that the Thunder — with two first-round picks and young talent in Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones on the roster — will look to make a major move on draft night. If they keep this pick, Saric, a smooth, mobile big man one executive describes as “the best passing big in the draft” is a nice find. Saric isn’t the bruising back-to-the-basket scorer that Oklahoma City craves, but he is exactly the kind of high potential talent GM Sam Presti loves to develop.”

Sean Deveney of Sporting News: “Who knows what the Thunder do with this pick? Gobert is a high-ceiling gamble with a massive wingspan (7-9), who can be stashed in Europe for a year before coming to the NBA.”

Jonathan Tjarks of SB Nation: “Dieng is a 23-year-old center who can play defense and knock down a mid-range jumper. Just going to throw this out there, but I suspect he is already a better basketball player than either Kendrick Perkins or Hasheem Thabeet.”

Vice President Joe Biden to KD: “You’re not only a great athlete, you’re a great humanitarian. On behalf of all of us, thank you for your generosity.”

KD spoke to reporters yesterday about his donation while in Minnesota watching friend Monica Wright play: “As the day went on and I saw the footage and the casualties and the houses being blown away, it was tough to see. I call Oklahoma City my home. I go through Moore all the time. It’s unfortunate. We’re going to come together as a city like we always do and we’re going to bounce back.”

Presti talking about the tornado.

Why Oklahoma is awesome. No. 31 and 32 forever.

Tibor Pleiss isn’t coming over soon: “I am in contact with Thunder GM Sam Presti and I often speak on phone with Jonny Rogers, who lives in Barcelona and he is a scout for the Thunder in Europe,” Pleiss wrote on his blog. “They look at me each game and they are very satisfied for my performances. But I don’t want to be misunderstood: I think to the NBA in the medium term and I don’t want to talk too much about it. After this season I have three more years on my contract with Baskonia and I will stay at least next season. I feel the confidence of coach Zan Tabak. I know I can become a better player in Vitoria, which is crucial for me.”

Russell Westbrook and a few other Thunder players visited a hospital yesterday.

Tree and Leaf shirt Moore recovery shirt. It’s cool. Buy one. All proceeds to the disaster relief.

Well done, West Virginia baseball team.

Berry Tramel on the 12th pick: “OK, 16-20: 16. Marreese Speights, Philadelphia; 17. Roy Hibbert, Indiana; 18. JaVale McGee, Washington; 19. J.J. Hickson, Cleveland; 20. Alexis Ajinca, Charlotte. Are you kidding me? Speights is a solid backup center, then came three starting (or virtual starters, Denver does some funky things with McGee) centers. And then the total bust of Ajinca. So quick review. Through 20 picks, there have been what? Two busts and a couple of dubious picks. And the Bobcats had one of the busts (Ajinca) and one of the dubious (Augustin). No wonder Charlotte stinks. And it gets worse.”

The Toronto Raptors failed to finish in the top three of the lottery, meaning the Thunder gain the rights to the 12th pick in the draft.

The pick, acquired in the James Harden trade, was top three protected, meaning the Raptors could keep it if they finished between one and three. But with their name being drawn at No. 12, the pick goes to the Thunder. There was a 93.5 percent chance of the Raptors being drawn 12th in the lottery because they finished tied for the 11th-worst record in the league, and then lost a coin toss with Philadelphia.

The last 10 No. 12 overall picks: Jeremy Lamb, Alec Burks, Xavier Henry, Gerald Henderson, Jason Thompson, Thaddeus Young, Hilton Armstrong, Yaroslav Korolev, Robert Swift and Nick Freaking Collison.

The draft is June 27 in Brooklyn.

The Thunder own the Raptors first round pick, acquired from Houston in the James Harden trade. (The Rockets got it by trading Kyle Lowry to Toronto.)

The pick is top-three protected, meaning if the ping-pong balls bounce in the top three for the Raptors, they get to keep the pick. Anything 4-14, the Thunder use it. If the pick lands in the top three, it then rolls over to next season where it is top-two protected.

The 12th worst record has seven combinations in the lottery, or 0.7 percent chance to win. That’s not seven percent. That’s zero point seven percent. There’s a 0.8 percent chance for the No. 2 and a 0.10 percent chance at No. 3. Between pick four and 11, there’s zero chance. There’s also a zero percent chance at No. 14.

So, if they get to use it, the Thunder are guaranteed to be picking between 12 and 13, with a 93.5 percent chance of No. 12 and a 3.9 percent chance at No. 13.

The Raptors were 7-2 in April after going 4-11 in March and dropping to the seventh worst record. But they finished strong and the Blazers lost their last 13.

In draft lottery history, the 12th worst record has never won the lottery.

So after tonight, we’ll know if all this talk about Gorgui Dieng and Cody Zeller and C.J. McCollum and whoever else is actually worth our time.

@ChristineFox25

… says it all.

Full image after the jump:

@ChristineFox25

Picture via @ChristineFox25 and a hat tip to Trey Kerby

Per the Red Cross, Kevin Durant has given a $1 million donation to the disaster relief fund.

“The Red Cross relies on its donors to perform its mission in relieving human suffering following disasters,” said Janienne Bella, regional CEO in a release. “Mr. Durant’s gift and support to Oklahoma comes at a time of great need and we’re forever thankful for his generosity.”

Yesterday Durant tweeted, “Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!”

Durant spoke to reporters in Minnesota (he’s there to watch friend Monica Wright play) and said he was moved when watching the devastation.

“As the day went on and I saw the footage and the casualties and the houses being blown away, it was tough to see,” he said. “I call Oklahoma City my home. I go through Moore all the time. It’s unfortunate. We’re going to come together as a city like we always do and we’re going to bounce back.”

Here’s the thing about Durant’s donation: It’s almost not news. Because it’s the least surprising thing ever. We’re so lucky to have him playing basketball in our city.

Primary Thunder sponsor Chesapeake Energy made a $1 million cash donation yesterday also.

KD tweets: “Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!”

Serge Ibaka: “Again, pray for OKC… Everybody stay safe!”

Nick Collison: “spent much of yesterday watching the news out of Moore. My heart hurts for the people who lost loved ones. Thank you to all who are helping”

James Harden: “Praying for everyone in Oklahoma City. This is crazy!”

Other athletes react.

Perk is doing a donation thing at Anthony David Platinum by Quail Springs Mall today from 10-5.

A lady finds her dog alive in the rubble of her house on live TV. Amazing.

Tons of wild videos and such here.

A shirt with all proceeds — every penny — going to the disaster relief.

Russell Westbrook on his Instagram offered up some encouragement.

Chesapeake Energy reportedly gave a $1 million cash donation last night to the relief efforts.

A few basketball related links:

Andrew Sharp of Grantland: “Does Serge Ibaka become a star if he’s a top-five pick asked to contribute immediately on a bad team? Or to take the most obvious example: Paul George, who suddenly looks like a future NBA superstar. Simmons mentioned last week that the Clippers could’ve kept their pick in ’09 and taken George over Al-Farouq Aminu in 2010, giving them a murderous core for the next decade. But let’s say they still traded the ’09 pick and just drafted Paul George over Aminu. There’s no way George develops fast enough to convince the Clippers to keep him out of the Chris Paul discussion a year later. And in that case, he probably gets traded to New Orleans (just like Aminu), which leaves us wondering … does Paul George become a budding superstar if he’s stuck on a 30-win Hornets team the past two years?”

Draft lottery preview.

Darnell Mayberry: “In a draft that appears to be void of a single franchise player and short on can’t-miss stars, the Thunder must either hope the Raptors jump into the top three and try again next year or be prepared to make the best of an imperfect situation. But only with the benefit of hindsight can you question what the Thunder received. When Oklahoma City made the deal, Toronto was coming off a 23-win season. By all accounts, the Raptors were headed for another year near the bottom of the standings. That’s when things started to go awry.”

Chad Ford of ESPN.com on combine winners: “Indiana’s Cody Zeller stopped his slide in the rankings on Friday with a terrific performance in the athletic testing. While NBA teams take the athletic testing with a grain of salt, Zeller’s numbers were hard to ignore. Not only were his numbers terrific for a big man, they were great for a guard. Zeller’s stock dropped, in part, because there were several games in which he really struggled against long, athletic front lines. Seeing how well he performed in Chicago has given pause to NBA scouts and GMs who were ready to write him off.”

Adonal Foyle talks about KD on THTV.

Berry Tramel: “OK, now let’s go to an equally important metric — television market. Miami is America’s 16th-biggest TV market. Indy is No. 26. San Antonio is 36th. Memphis is 49th. Among NBA TV markets, the Heat ranks 17th, the Pacers 24th, the Spurs 27th and the Grizzlies 29th. Again, that’s remarkable. None of the final four ranks in the top half of the league in TV market; three of the four rank 24th or worse. And again, the Thunder, which made the NBA Finals a year ago and might have made it again if not for Russell Westbrook’s injury, ranks 41st in American TV markets and 28th in the NBA.”

Berry Tramel: “Meet the new sixth man of Thunderland. Fellow by the name of Jackson. Reggie Jackson. Meet your new sharpshooter off the bench, Boomtown. Lamb. Jeremy Lamb. Remember when Sam Presti made all those deals, some in Seattle, some in OKC, to clear galaxies of payroll space for some future day when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green and James Harden and Serge Ibaka would come of age? That day has come.”

Darnell Mayberry: “Successful regular season. Five days after trading James Harden, the Thunder embarked on a regular season that ended with the franchise earning its third straight Northwest Division crown, its first 60-win campaign in the OKC era and the top seed in the Western Conference. Add to that, individual improvements were made from nearly everyone on the roster. You can’t ask for any more than what the Thunder did in the regular season. As for the postseason, all bets were off once Russell Westbrook went down.”

Best and worst of the season.

David Thorpe ranks KD fifth for postseason MVP: “It’s easy to say that Durant missed Westbrook. What player wouldn’t miss All-NBA production at point guard? But without Westbrook, the team also lacked fire, passion, purpose and someone who could always generate a fast-paced game. The Thunder were ultracompetitive in every loss (except Game 5), thanks to Durant’s heroics. But Durant’s “ice” was not as effective without Westbrook’s “fire.” Still, OKC won 60 games in the regular season and played Memphis incredibly tight without its star guard — great signs that the Thunder will be very strong again next season. However, Durant must learn to take the final step from astounding talent to someone capable of making all the right plays to help his team win a title if he wants to approach LeBron’s claim as the world’s best player.”

Anthony Slater says Russell Westbrook is a 2o12-13 season winner: “Anyone doubting Westbrook’s importance to the Thunder’s success any more? *Crickets*. Over the past couple seasons, as a talented scoring machine who never seems to tire, Westbrook made a strong push toward etching his name among the league’s elite. But, ironically, his sudden absence from the court, for the first time since grade school, may have strengthened that case. He’s a top-10, likely top-5 talent and one of the NBA’s most indispensable players. You can use this past month as evidence.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com on Seattle: “There was a small victory for Seattle basketball fans (including me) Wednesday night. The town’s resident NBA team, whatever opponent is playing the Oklahoma City Thunder (in this case the Memphis Grizzlies), knocked the Thunder out of the playoffs. But that was barely consolation for the day’s crushing news. When the NBA’s Board of Governors voted down the proposal by a group of local businessmen to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle as the Sonics, it ensured Seattle will be without NBA basketball for at least a sixth season — with no guarantees that will change any time soon.”

dailythunder.com

You’ll never believe this, but in Sam Presti’s final season media availability the biggest topic of conversation centered around Kendrick Perkins.

And if I understood Presti right through his fancy words, lofty sentence structure and winding explanations, it doesn’t sound like the Thunder are considering using the amnesty clause on Perk.

“Obviously I know that’s a topic that’s been talked about, and for us, the amnesty application is not something we really have ever considered as an organization,” Presti said. “I understand that it’s something that’s been talked about quite a bit, but organizationally that’s not something we’ve considered.

“We just haven’t considered using the provision,” he said. “I wouldn’t necessarily attribute that to any player on our team. Every team looks at the amnesty provision different depending on their circumstances, but it’s not really something that we’ve explored.”

Now, does that mean to this point they haven’t ever thought about using the amnesty? Or does it mean that philosophically as a franchise, they haven’t ever thought about using the amnesty? I suppose that’s still up for interpretation. I took Presti’s comments to say that unless circumstances change, specifically in the Thunder’s salary structure, meaning either getting under the cap or over the tax, they aren’t using the amnesty. Which makes sense, which is how this organization operates.

I’ve already seen some using the anti-amnesty talk to somehow illustrate how Clay Bennett and the Thunder’s ownership group are “cheap.” To amnesty Perk means the Thunder would have to pay out his salary, making up the difference of any new contract he gets, meaning the Thunder would be writing a likely check in the $12-15 million range while still having to sign, and pay, a replacement. OKC’s ownership and front office aren’t “cheap.” They’re realists. They understand the circumstance of a small market team in the NBA and the challenges that presents.

Throw money at every problem and what you do is damage the overall health and well-being of the organization. It hurts the opportunity to maybe sign a free agent later, or broker a trade, or re-sign Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in years to come. It’s not just about the present money. It’s about the future as well. Some get sick of Presti’s company line of “sustained success” because they want titles and banners and rings and trophies NOW. Trust me, the Thunder want those things too. But they also want to be in a position to compete for them as well next season, and the season after that and 10 more seasons after that. If you don’t like the philosophy of attempting to sustain success over a long period of time in a small market by making every transaction and move with an eye on the future as well as the present, pick a new team to root for. Be a Lakers fan, or a Heat fan. This is the situation the Thunder are in, and this is how they operate. You should really be used to it and understand it by now.

And just some evidence against the Thunder’s ownership being “cheap” — they attempted to re-sign James Harden. He said no to a four-year, $55 million extension that would’ve placed the Thunder deep into luxury tax territory. Currently, the Thunder are over the cap and flirting with the tax. They have two max players, and a third guy making nearly $50 million over four years. Would cheap owners do that?

What shaped the Thunder’s postseason, and their subsequent failure — and I can’t believe I have to keep repeating this — was the injury to Russell Westbrook. Everything, and I mean everything, is different with a healthy Westbrook. Not just in what likely would’ve happened on the floor, but also what would’ve happened with a potential failure. If the Thunder had lost to Memphis anyway with Westbrook, this season would be framed in a whole new light. The perspective is entirely different. Then those questions about Scott Brooks and other roster moves carry a lot more weight.

But you’re talking about removing one of the NBA’s five best players from your team. And while there was still a lot of good stuff in place, to have an expectation they’d carry on and play without issue is just entirely delusional and unrealistic. You’ve seen the impact having a 70 percent Dwyane Wade has had on the Heat this postseason. Take him completely away and the Heat might have a lot more problems.

Again, it’s amazing that in all the finger-pointing and griping that this seemingly significant part to OKC’s season is overlooked. Russell Westbrook was hurt. That changed everything. It exposed the flaws of some of the role players, it made people look bad that have otherwise been covered up because of Westbrook’s talent. That’s how the game works though, and that’s why you try and get superstars. They make things better when they maybe actually aren’t. You think Chris Anderson is actually tearing it up in Miami, or do you think he’s just really benefiting from playing with LeBron and Wade?

“It was a heckuva season with a disappointing ending,” Presti said. “But like I said, the goal here is to sustain success. And if you’re successful at that, it’s not going to be without interruption or disruption. You’re going to have to deal with things that are unforeseen and unfortunate, and that’s what separates the top tier teams in the NBA is the ability to press on in their march for sustainability.”

Presti makes a great point there. The more successful you are, the higher the stakes are on EVERYTHING. An injury’s impact is multiplied 50 times over. Kevin Love’s injury completely destroyed the Wolves this year, but nobody really cares too much because they weren’t all that good to begin with. But being in the rare and privileged position of contending means that you’ll face unique challenges. From roster decisions because players got too good, to injuries, to poor performances, to bad choices. It’s all amplified, and to get to that mountain top, for one perfect season, it has to all be overcome.

In the end, the season finished with a loss, which wasn’t supposed to be the way it worked. From the first round to the Western Finals to the Finals, it seemed like the natural progression was to raise a banner. But then again, you can’t skip steps in the process. And seeing as the Thunder jumped over ever losing in the second round, maybe this was just them checking that one off in the path to a potential championship. That’s all it was, right?

 Other notes and quotes from Presti’s availability:

• On the luxury tax: “We’ll look at everything, relative to the parameters that we have to work with. We have to look at things that will not only look at things in a year to year basis, but also in a long-term health and ability to compete basis. I think every team at the stage of the new CBA, the new tax starts this coming season, is going to have decisions to make. Some won’t. Either they’ll be able to compete at that level, or there will be some that will find that [money] in the couches of their sponsor lounge. But for us, it’s one to be in, it’s another thing to be in for a long time.”

• On the attempt to re-sign Harden which would’ve broken into the tax: “We understood at that time that would be a short-term play. Just based on the realities and the parameters that we had to work with. We respect that, we accept that. But that was a unique situation. We were trying to do everything we possibly could. But once the player’s decision was made, we quickly moved to adjusting our scope to a more feasible situation for this organization.”

• That line is interesting — “would be a short-term play.” What exactly does that mean? Signing Harden would just have been a short fix and the would’ve looked to move him later once the tax payments started ramping up? My understanding of the meaning there is that it would’ve been challenging to extend Harden — something they were willing to do, mind you — and then maintain the roster. Not the top level players like Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka or Harden. But the other pieces. And in a way, the Thunder would’ve been going against their core values even if Harden had accepted the extension. But that’s why Presti called it a “unique situation.” Because Harden was good enough to deviate from the plan.

• On Perk’s play: “I think we have to be really pragmatic about how we finished and understand how that situation could’ve affected the different layers of the team. That’s not to say we can’t learn things from the series. I think we can pull a lot of things from the series. There were some things that were really positive that took place over the playoffs. Especially when you think about how close those games were, there’s definitely things that we can try and pull. I would say that individually, collectively, we have to give it some distance and really get away from the recency of the situation to understand who we are and who we are coming back and how to best improve on that.”

• More thoughts on the amnesty clause: “We have several players that would be eligible based on the new CBA, and I’d be happy to talk about it, if I could help anybody understand it better, generally speaking not necessarily in pertinence to us, but if anyone wants me to explain the application, so that everyone understands how it’s constituted, how teams look at it, teams that do use it, why they do use it, I’d be happy to do that. But I also don’t want to waste time on something that we’re not, or haven’t really considered.”

• Presti was then asked about why teams use it, and buckle up for a big time explanation: “Basically the way that provision is used is generally it’s used when teams are under the salary cap. There’s a difference between the tax and the cap. When you’re under the cap, it’s generally used to increase flexibility and use it as a roster-building tool. Now when you’re under the cap, by connotation, it also means that your payroll and your cash payment is at a different level. So therefore you’d be able to absorb a full salary of a player and it might be more beneficial because you’d be able toe exceed that player’s salary based on the salary cap space you’re using. So generally, teams are using those provisions as under the cap teams. Now the other way you can use the provision is you can go over the tax — you can use it anytime, but history shows teams generally use it as an economic tool — so if you’re over the tax and you find that paying the salary of a player is more beneficial financially than taking on the tax amount, as well as a full salary, then you can use it in that facet. So therefore you can pay an x-amount, or team salary, but you’re really actually seeing twice the amount or more even more depending on how punitive the level of the tax you’re in … Just for understanding, it’s typically under the cap, over the tax teams that use it. Then of course the revenue of the team, I think the situation of the team comes into play. I think you’ve seen some teams use it more aggressively because of where they can get to in terms of a cash standpoint, and other teams use it minimally to try and make a minor move here or there. But it’s very relative as to where you stand under the cap or over the tax.”

• On evaluating individual players: “We think Perk has a lot of value to our team. He’s a member of a team that won 60 games and helped us to our third division title in three years. I don’t know that we can discount that. Obviously, I’m sure he would’ve liked to have had a better postseason, but I think that’s pretty universal for the whole group. And we accept that. No one’s running from the fact that we certainly feel like we should still be playing. But at the end of the day Memphis was the better team in that series and we tip our cap to them, and we go into the offseason looking at how we can improve.”

• Presti called Durant and Westbrook the “caretakers of the organization” and “drivers of our culture.”

• On if Presti thinks the Perk he has now is the one he thought he was signing to an extension: “Look, I could sit here and read off a lot of internal metrics that would indicate his impact on the performance of the other team when he’s on the floor. I don’t think that’s what you guys want to hear. And certainly not something we need to trumpet in front of you. Look, he’s a guy that’s contributed to this team the past three years. He would like to play at a higher level in the postseason than he did. But at the same time, I think that could be said for a lot of our guys. I think he’s going to go back and work and improve. But he does things we value, against certain teams we have to go through on a nightly basis. But as I said before, there’s going to be situations where he’s called upon and there’s going to be situations, as we saw in the Houston series, where his contribution might be different. But he’s a part of the group that’s had success and we value that. We don’t split that up and weight it based on eight games or things of that nature. We look at it a little more holistically and collectively.”

• Presti noted it and it’s true: While you can glean a ton from the postseason, let’s not forget there was an 82-game season that was a precursor to it. Don’t evaluate everything and every player based on 11 postseason games. Again, you can get lots from it, but don’t be a prisoner of the moment.

• On Jeremy Lamb: “Jeremy is definitely someone that we feel really good about. I think he’s doing to be a contributor to our team at some point in the near future. How much and how soon, I think some of that will be determined this summer. We’ve, again, been afforded the opportunity to have a very promising young player on our team that hasn’t been put in to action so to speak at this time. But I think he’s used the year wisely. The summer will be a continuation of that. And we think he’s a player that can really grow. He’s 20 years old at the moment … so Jeremy’s best basketball is still in front of him.”

• On the series with the Grizzlies: “As constituted, Memphis was the better team.”

• On the uphill battle against the Grizzlies: “They tried everything they could to wring the towel dry.”

• Presti told a story about watching Reggie Jackson warming up pregame during the Finals and how hard he was working. And how his shirt was drenched and how if there was ever a game he could’ve taken it easy in his workout, it was probably then because he wasn’t going to play. But then fastforward to this season and Jackson took over the starting role from Eric Maynor on Christmas, in Miami. And Presti just enjoyed the symbolism of how Jackson’s hard work and preparation led to that moment.

• On the Toronto pick: “We’re certainly going to look at it. I don’t that we can determine [if we'll trade the pick] until we get a better feel for who will be there that particular night. But we’ll be open-minded about everything and if there’s someone there that we feel like fits our team and we can help them and they can help us then we won’t hesitate to use it there. At the same time, I’m sure there will be some interest in it and trade discussions, but it’s a little too early to say.”

• Presti said Westbrook’s recovery is going well and essentially said that because he had the full repair, it’s likely Westbrook should be the same player he was health-wise.

• On Kevin Martin: “I think he was very, very professional and effective in what he did. It’s not easy to assume the role he assumed and he did so with grace, he did so with professionalism and we’re appreciative of that. As I said, he was a part of the best regular season this franchise has enjoyed. With that said, he’s a free agent, he’s unrestricted, and with that comes opportunity for him. He’s earned that right. He’s going to have the opportunity to look at different situations and for us, we have to look at the parameters we have to work with and make decisions that are not just basketball decisions but make sure everything fits.”

SAM PRESTI

Note: Presti talked for close to 45 minutes so I’m trying to get the second part up, but it might take a bit.

That Russell Westbrook, he’s pretty good. Here are his top 10 plays of the 2012-13 season. My five favorite things about them:

1. That strut after the dunk against Charlotte.

2. Him leaving Ibaka hanging on a high-five and instead choosing to flex after the dunk against the Warriors.

3. The dunk against Dallas in general, because he goes with one hand, gathers it, and then crushes the rim.

4. On the behind-the-back-crossover play against the Mavs, the person that goes “WOOOOOOOO!” right as he starts making the move.

5. The look after the long snap to Martin for a dunk. Russ is like, “Yeah, I know.”