OKLAHOMA CITY – While many in the NBA community are focused on the Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff run came to an end in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
On Monday, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti held a news conference to speak about the end of the season.
Presti started out by thanking fans and the people who work with the organization.
He says the team started the season with energy, excitement and a sense of purpose.
He says the team’s legacy is ‘unwritten’ and this past season was an ‘incredible chapter.’
Presti says that while everyone is disappointed the Thunder couldn’t win Game 7, the season has “brought us to a new gateway or a new era of Thunder basketball.”
He spoke about head coach Billy Donovan’s first season, saying Donovan “did an excellent job putting the foundation in place for the post season.”
Presti brought up the fact that the team was 7-6 at one point this season, but that no one gave up.
He says the team showed focus and some of the best work was in the midst of losing.
“If you play close to 100 games, things are going to go wrong,” Presti said.
He says he believes that with Donovan’s first season behind him, next season will be even better.
On Monday, much of the attention was focused on Kevin Durant.
“I think Kevin deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the way that he’s handled his affairs,” Presti said. “I’ve never been more impressed with somebody in that regard.”
Presti says that many players who are on the verge of free agency would focus on that, but Durant allowed himself and his teammates to focus on the season.
“We’re not able to have that season unless he handled his affairs the way he did,” he said.
Presti says that the team can’t control Durant’s decision but says he is mature and rational and will do what’s best for him.
“How fortunate are we that Kevin Durant has been one of the first players to ever wear a Thunder uniform?” Presti said.
He says he speaks to Durant ‘all the time’ and that he will sit down and have a conversation with him about staying with the Thunder when the time is right.
Regardless of Durant’s decision, Presti says that he is excited about the future of the team.
This season, he says the players were very connected on and off the court.
“By the end of the season, there was a great compassion between the players. They were really playing for one another, really sacrificing for one another,” he said.
He says he believes the Thunder is poised to be the first in the league for continuity, even though the team has the fifth youngest rotation.
“We have a really special group of people,” he said.
