Category Archives: Offseason Beat

A look at Thunder happenings during the offseason.

The Source: Presti Quotables

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Back in the 90’s, magazines were all the rage for being in the know for whatever you were consuming. If you loved sports, there was a weekly dose of information called Sports Illustrated. If nature was your thing, National Geographic had you covered. World news…Time. Silly comics…MAD. If you were a music head, you were probably ordering a monthly subscription to Rolling Stones or Vibe. But you were a hip-hop head, your readable rotation probably involved magazines like Word Up!, XXL, and The Source. The latter of those had a section called Hip-Hop Quotables, where the magazine highlighted a specific verse or song that was lyrically chef’s kiss. If you were a rapper at that time, you wanted your verse to be featured on Hip-Hop Quotables.

If you’ve followed the Oklahoma City Thunder any in their 18 years of existence, you know that a Sam Presti press conference is usually good for several quotables. The man is well-versed in many forms of prose and can pull out a quote or lyric from the recesses of his mind. As the Thunder open up their championship-defending campaign, Presti once again blessed us with several quotables in preparation for the 2025-26 NBA season. Here are some from Thursday’s presser:

Shots fired at NBA commissioner Adam Silver for his comments regarding the cost associated with having multiple TV partners across multiple streaming services and his quip that content can be consumed for free on social media because basketball is a “highlight-based sport”. Presti, and in turn, the Thunder, have always prided themselves in being students of the game, and not just consumers of the moment. When you stack days and live a 0-0 mentality, highlights are just plays that happen in the moment.

Chess is often associated with intelligence and experience. How do you attack and then how do you counter. But, as Presti said, that’s assuming everyone is playing with the same players on the board. Chess would make sense if everyone had an MVP candidate on their team or a DPOY candidate that can step out and hit 3’s. But in reality, that isn’t the case. In poker, you are given a set of cards, and from there, you decide what to do. Six years ago, the Thunder saw the deck they had in hand, and decided to pivot (or fold) from that current state. And so began the rebuild. While it was uncomfortable (shitty hands) for a little, eventually the team came up aces with their young players and a championship was the end result. Presti knew when to hold them and when to fold them.

“My whole life is consistent.” Yep, checks out. Presti knows ball.

One of the staples of the Thunder ethos is “no agenda basketball”. Presti said that when describing Cason Wallace’s play when they drafted the guard in 2023. And he repeats that, in other words/phrases, of course, in describing Chet. What I love about “Presti-speak” is that he takes a phrase and then parses out synonyms that basically mean the same thing.

 

 

If you were looking for a theme for this year, it’s “turning the page”. Presti mentioned it  multiple times during the press conference and eludes to the fact that the Thunder can’t rest on the laurels of last season. Continuous improvement was also a theme Presti touched on multiple time during the presser.

Frickin’ bars, man. Stop guarding the past. Build towards the future. If this whole GM thing doesn’t work out for Presti, he’s got a helluva future as an inspirational speaker or life coach.

This is nothing new when it comes to Presti. In every preseason presser, he always stresses the goal is to put yourself in position to go after an opportunity if it presents itself. The Thunder have never been a “title or bust” team. It’s always been about setting yourself up to have the opportunity to compete for championships. To Presti, winning a championship does nothing to change that mindset.

 

These two quotes have to go together. With all the fear being stoked that the 2nd apron will eventually tear this team apart, the reality is that the Thunder are only just now in the beginning of their run, haven’t even dipped their toes into the luxury tax (and likely won’t this season), have their core signed for the next six seasons, and still have a treasure trove of assets. Not only that, but the ownership group has been saving money throughout the rebuild specifically for this moment and more money should be coming, in the form of possible expansion and the new arena. Oh, and the Thunder already have a championship in their coffers before they start getting financially penalized.

If your job has a mission statement, just keep repeating it if you are the boss.

And finally:

Keep smiling, champ. Keep smiling.

 

Jalen Williams sheds the wrist brace

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As shown on Jalen Williams’ Instagram page, the brace that once covered his right wrist is now no longer present. The surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament was performed on July 1st, 2025. At the time, the expected re-evaluation period for such a surgery was at least 12 weeks. As of today, we are at 11 weeks, post-surgery. At the time, Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti stated that he expected Williams to be ready for the start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.

Williams tore the ligament on April 9th, 2025, in a game against the Phoenix Suns. He went on to miss the last two games of the regular season, but played in all the postseason games, as the Thunder made their run to win the championship. As documented in Williams’ post-surgery vlog, he received lidocaine injections in his wrist before each game and before some practices. He also took multiple cortisone shots and developed injection-site callouses in his wrist. He said that during the playoff run, he had to relearn how to shoot, using more of a finger-tip guided shot, instead of his usual wrist-guided shot.

The Thunder start training camp in a couple of weeks and play their first preseason game on October 5th, 2025 against the Charlotte Hornets. Their championship title defense begins on October 21st, 2025 against the Houston Rockets.

 

After the Storm: A Multiversal look at OKC and Hurricane Katrina

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If you know me, you know that I’m a sucker for a good comic book story. Whether it’s the MCU or the DCEU, a story where the hero (or villain) goes through an ethical journey is one that I will sit through while killing a bucket of buttery, salted popcorn. Lately, the MCU has explored the concept of the multiverse, where there is a boundless collection of infinite realities and timelines, each with its own unique variations of the universe. For example, in another universe, the Portland Trailblazers don’t draft Sam Bowie in 1984, and instead, draft a guard from the University of North Carolina by the name of Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, in that universe, Jordan tears his ACL midway through his rookie year and never develops into the Michael Jordan we know in our universe. In that universe, Nike never explodes into the company we know and the closest thing to Jordan as a brand is Jordache (if you know, it’s probably time to schedule a colonoscopy).

Back on our universe, on August 28th, 2005, a monstrous hurricane by the name of Katrina was releasing all it’s force on the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The power from the storm overwhelmed the levees, and NOLA, a city that was already located below sea level, was inundated in flood water from the failed infrastructure. The devastation wrecked everything in it’s path, whether it was living or non-living. Once the waters receded, the picture in front of everybody was bleak at best. Casualties from those who decided to ride out the storm. Homes, even those of the multistory variety, completely flooded to the roof. A population transplanted to other cities in the general vicinity. A city decimated to the studs.

Once the important stuff was noted, the things that make a city, a city, were next on the docket. New Orleans, known for the French Quarters, Mardi Gras, jazz, world-class cuisine, and a unique night life, was a city that was put on pause. Included in that was the city’s sports scene. The NFL season was about to begin and the New Orleans Saints needed to find a replacement home due to all the damage sustained by the Superdome. They would not be able to play in New Orleans that season and found refuge in San Antonio, Texas.

On the horizon, was the NBA season. The New Orleans Hornets also needed to find a new home, not just due to the damage to their home arena, but also due to the fact that, at that point, early in the city’s recovery, there was not enough population in the city to sustain a season of home basketball games. We all know the story…The NBA needed an arena (and a city) that was NBA-ready for an unknown amount of time. In walks Oklahoma City, with their small city sized population and an arena ready for a tenant. The rest is history. The Hornets played in OKC for two years. The city fell in love with their new team and lusted to have this feeling for the rest of time. The political, civil, and business machinations did their things over the next couple of years, and eventually, OKC ended up with a team of their own, albeit via Seattle.

The Thunder were born. We fell in love with young men by the names of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. We felt the pain of losing a championship and then the pain of watching “our guy” voluntarily leave to play for a rival. We were nursed back to the health by the King of the Prairie. We lived through our first real rebuild and then fell in love with another iteration of the team, which eventually netted us a championship. A sports story for the ages. From tragedy (the Murrah building bombing) to triumph (the championship parade), these bookends in this chapter of the city will be the anchor points that we point to when we talk about our story.

But what if…

Hurricane Katrina never happened?

When you talk about the multiverse, they always point to events that lead to where we currently are in time. They call these points in time “Nexus Events”. For Oklahoma City, their nexus events were the bombing and Hurricane Katrina. They shaped the city we know of today. They shaped the relationships we’ve built, the buildings we’ve constructed, the memories we’ve forged. It opens up a cornucopia of questions for how things change if Katrina never occurred.

Thousands of miles away, they shaped what happened in Seattle, WA. Imagine a world where you’ve only known Durant to play for the Seattle Supersonics. A world where Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp gave way to Kevin Durant and….Jerryd Bayless?

What about New Orleans itself? Do they continue to be at the bottom of the league for attendance? Or do they pull an OKC and fall totally heads over heels for those Chris Paul and David West teams. Or does the bad attendance continue and the forced hand eventually leads to the Hornets moving to, oh, I don’t know, somewhere like Oklahoma City?

So many question. So many possibilities. But the tie that binds is still the same. There is no championship in Oklahoma City without the destruction from Hurricane Katrina. A tragedy that had major ramifications in the lives of many people. A lot can definitely change in 20 years.

Why It Makes Sense For The Thunder To Trade For Westbrook (With A Caveat, Of Course)

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If we rewind back to the end of season press conference Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti had, a couple of the prevailing themes came to the forefront. The first being the Thunder would not cut corners in order to get back to where they want to be. Two quotes stuck out to me when referencing this theme. The first being, “We’re running our own race. We’re not watching the clock. We know our time is going to come. We can’t predict when that’s going to be, but we’re up for the challenge here.” And the other being, “We’re closer to being the team we want to be this season than we were last season, but we’re still really far away from ultimately getting to the level we want to be at.”

The other theme was the fact the Thunder will likely wait until after the new CBA is signed during the 2023 offseason before diving into any real roster building outside of the draft. Presti harkened back to previous Thunder teams whose flexibility was basically nullified by the new CBA rules of the time.

But I would say what we can’t have happen is to be mid-stream, which has happened, and a brand new bouquet of rules is introduced that is not advantageous to where you are in your building process. One time, okay; two times, hmm; but not happening three times. So we have to be eyes wide open on what that really means. Like I said, if I was a fan right now I’d shut my ears because this is not interesting, but if you’re trying to run an NBA franchise in 2022 and beyond, in 20 of the 30 cities, you’re going to be tuned into the CBA, revenue sharing and TV deal. Those things really set the cast for how you operate.

If we take Presti at his word, then I don’t think the Thunder will be too interested in free agency and in the trade market this offseason and upcoming season. Instead, I believe this will be the last year where Oklahoma City will truly be in asset acquisition mode. We’ve heard the numbers before: OKC has 17 possible first round picks over the next five drafts, including this year’s draft. Is it possible to have too many first round picks for a period of time? Yes, if you don’t have a plan. But Presti laid out how some of those firsts may be used in the future. During the presser, he talked about the price of obtaining veterans to fill out the roster via trades. Said recent trades cost between one and two firsts for valuable veterans. If that is what the Thunder are going for, why not try to obtain the most valuable assets possible.

Recently, Russell Westbrook, currently of the Los Angeles Lakers, decided to purge some pictures from his Instagram account. One thing that was very noticeable from the purging: the only pictures that remained were those of his regular life and those of him in Thunder gear. All the Lakers, Rockets, and Wizards-related pictures were deleted. While some basketball players have a habit of deleting team-related pictures during the offseason, the fact that Westbrook kept his OKC pictures got people talking.

While it may be nothing, always remember that Presti does a ton of his work behind the scenes. The trade that sent Chris Paul to Phoenix was likely consummated, not in the 2020 offseason, but instead, likely, on January 31st, 2020 when the Thunder played the Suns in Phoenix. It was there where the widely circulated video of Suns GM James Jones telling Presti to follow him as they headed into the tunnel occurred. Between that game and their time in the Bubble in Orlando, I’m sure much, if not all, of the framework for that trade was constructed then. With both the Lakers and Thunder having so much time on their hands, what’s to say Presti and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka haven’t already had some preliminary discussions. And with Presti’s relationship with Westbrook, who’s to say all three parties aren’t keyed into what the next step may be.

This all begs the question: What does a trade for Westbrook look like for the Thunder? Before we jump into specifics, there are some caveats that need to be discussed. First off, the return from the Lakers will definitely need to be in the form of, at least, two future first round picks, both either unprotected or very lightly protected (no more than top-4 protected). Secondly, there likely needs to be an agreement between the Thunder and Westbrook before the trade even occurs on a buy-out amount. Westbrook is due to make $47 million next season. The Thunder do not have the ability to absorb that amount without risking their cap flexibility for future seasons. For a team that is in the middle of a rebuild, that is extremely important. The agreed upon amount needs to be that mid-point between what makes Westbrook happy and what keeps the Thunder’s cap sheet flexible. Westbrook making $47 million is a toxic asset no team wants to touch. But an unrestricted free agent Westbrook with 35-40 million already in his pocket is a prime commodity.

Now on to the trade, which will actually be quite painless once the above caveats are met. If the Lakers are willing to part with the two first round picks, the easiest path to making this work is essentially Derrick Favors and Ty Jerome for Westbrook. A sweetner that may make the Thunder more attractive than say, the Charlotte Hornets, could be adding the rights to Vasilije Micic to the trade.

One question that may arise is how do the Thunder stay out of the luxury tax if this gets done. First off, the Thunder have the ability to keep all 15 of their current players. Of course, in this scenario. Favors and Jerome are no longer with the team. But if we really get down to the true rotation of the roster, it only goes about 10 deep.

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
  • Josh Giddey
  • Tre Mann
  • Aaron Wiggins
  • Lu Dort
  • Aleksej Pokusevski
  • Darius Bazley
  • Mike Muscala
  • Kenrich Williams
  • Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

Those 10 players plus the dead money for Kemba Walker and Kyle Singler (still??) comes out to a little over $86 million. Now, let’s look at the Thunder’s pick situation. The Thunder are positioned to pick 4th, 12th, and 30th in the first round. But the lottery won’t be for another 3 weeks. Let’s say that by a miracle of all miracles, the Thunder luck into the 1st, 2nd, and 30th pick. The highest amount to pay for rookies in those positions is a little less than $23 million. Luckily (or unluckily) for OKC, the chances of the dream scenario happening are about 0.16% (shoutout @TylerCarroll12). Let’s say, realistically, the Thunder get #1, #12, and #30. The total cost of those three rookies, salary-wise, is reduced to $17.4 million.

That gets the Thunder up to 13 players under contract at a total of $103.5 million. The Thunder generally like to go into the season with only 14 players. Which means, the 14th roster spot will likely be a battle between Vit Krejci, Isaiah Roby, and whoever the Thunder pick at #34. Luckily none of those players make more than $1.9 million. Let’s say the Thunder bring Roby and Krejci back and two-way the 2nd rounder. That gives them 15 contracted players at a total of $107 million.

The projected salary cap number for next season is $122 million and the luxury tax line is $149 million. If Westbrook takes a clean $40 million buyout, that brings the Thunder’s salaried total to $147 million. While that is close to the line, the Thunder have options to cut salary, if necessary. In addition to those 17 first rounders over the next five drafts, they also have 15 second rounders over the next seven drafts. They could easily send Roby or Krejci to another team with a 2nd attached in the deal.

With all this said, I never once mentioned that Westbrook would stay with this team if traded here. While that idea is an extremely polarizing one within the Thunder fandom, Presti’s vision does not include an aging point guard who is currently championship-chasing. If anything, this is mutually beneficial for all three parties involved. The Thunder get a final haul of assets before they likely start cashing some of them in the next offseason, the Lakers get some salary cap relief and flexibility to keep building around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and Westbrook gets something that he’s never had in his career: freedom to choose where he wants to go.

Russell Westbrook undergoes arthroscopic procedure

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img_6316The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that All-Star guard Russell Westbrook underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. The statement stated that Westbrook experienced some inflammation in his knee over the weekend and Westbrook, his advisers, and the team decided it would be best to have the “proactive” procedure. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal El’Attrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, Ca.

Last year, Westbrook missed part of training camp after electing to have a PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection in his left knee after experiencing some discomfort in that knee. Five years ago, Westbrook suffered a torn meniscus on his right knee in Game 1 of their playoff series against the Houston Rockets when Patrick Beverly ran into Westbrook’s knee going for a steal attempt as Westbrook slowed down to call a timeout.

Complications while recovering from the initial meniscus surgery necessitated a second surgery at the beginning of the 2013-14 season. Westbrook had to go under the knife for a third time in December of that year due to increased swelling in his knee. In total, Westbrook had three surgeries on his right knee over an 8 month period in 2013. He’s been relatively healthy since then, missing only 20 games total since the end of the 2013-14 season.

Since then, Westbrook has had two triple-double seasons, has led the league in scoring twice, and won the 2017 NBA MVP. According to the Thunder, Westbrook will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks. The addition of Dennis Schroder means the Thunder will at least head into the preseason with a viable replacement for Westbrook. Something the team hasn’t had in a while. The Thunder’s first regular season game is October 16th, against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Ca.

 

Thunder At A Glance – 8.20.18

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Steven Adams strumming a guitar because, of course, how could this guy not be more awesomer?????

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Russell Westbrook had himself some fun at the JH (James Harden) Town Charity Basketball Game in Houston. A couple observations: For those of you wanting Westbrook to take it easy in the offseason, he isn’t listening to you. And number two, I’m saddened that we never got to see Westbrook and Harden develop into their primes together.

The Thunder’s Summer of Love

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abrines dre weddingIf the Oklahoma City Thunder’s summer could be encapsulated into one word, that word would be “love”. Not that smooshy, Barney-inspired “I love you, you love me” love. No. What the Thunder have shown this offseason is love that is running hand in hand with their maturing nature. This isn’t a bunch of 20-somethings planning how they are going to get laid on a Saturday night. It’s not Thunder U, anymore. The Thunder’s core is past the point where words like love, marriage, and monogamy are just reserved for the 12-year vet at the end of the bench. They are, in a word, getting older.

As fans, we sometimes view athletes as overgrown teenagers with huge allowances. Man-children looking for the next great thrill after the game. A player gets into a bar fight: Oh, that’s just boys being boys. A players ends up with 8 children from 6 different women. Welp, that’s athletes for you. We celebrate the man’s man, living the single, athlete life vicariously through our favorite ball players. Continue reading →

Quick Dive into the Thunder’s 2018-19 Schedule

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russ pgAfter releasing their prime time games to begin the season, for Christmas, and for Martin Luther King Jr Day on Wednesday, the NBA finally blessed us all with the complete 82 game schedule of all the teams in the league. Further solidifying their stance on player rest and increased health, the NBA schedule makers have once again blessed teams with a schedule devoid of the four-games-in-five-nights scenario and the even scarier eight-games-in-12-nights atrocity. In addition, back-to-backs are at historic lows, with teams averaging just 13.3 back-to-backs this season (it was 14.4 last season).

The Thunder once again benefit from being in the middle of the country. Their longest road trip is just four games. In addition, they also have four 3-game road trips. They are involved in 11 back-to-back games. Two of those 11 are road/road back-to-backs. Two are of the home/home variety. Five are of the road/home variety. And two of them are of the home/road variety.  Continue reading →

Summer League Preview for the Thunder

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dakariIt’s that time of year again. A time to dream. A time to hope. A time to….oh, what’s that? The Golden State Warriors acquired DeMarcus Cousins for just $5 million dollars. Oh, well. It’s still a time to play. And for many of us who haven’t seen our teams lace them up in over a couple months, it’s a brief respite into competitive basketball and a slight glimpse into the future. Some of the players that will step foot on the Thomas & Mack Center (or Cox Pavilion) will be the superstars of tomorrow. But for many of the players that will play in the Las Vegas Summer League, the court in the Mojave Desert will be the closest they ever get to donning an NBA jersey.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team will be looking for their youngsters to show improvement from where they were just 2 months ago. Even though the Thunder were one of the most veteran-laden teams in the league last season, they still counted on a couple rookies to provide valuable minutes throughout the season. Terrance Ferguson and Dakari Johnson showed that they belonged in the league last year. Now, the team will be looking for them to be consistent contributors on the roster. Continue reading →

The Offseason Beat : 03 – 09 May 2018

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IMG_4136Here on NTTB, during the offseason, we’ll be looking to do a weekly article on the happenings around the Thunder organization. Before the explosion of social media, the offseason was usually a waiting game of news and stories. A signing here. A signing there. Unless someone made the police blotter in a major way, the stories weren’t really there. But now, with most players giving fans access to their lives 24/7, newsworthy events and stories are plentiful.

Here are a couple stories from this past week:

May 3rd – Alex Abrines undergoes surgery to repair a sports hernia.

It’s always been known that when it comes to Alex Abrines, problematic knee issues can sometimes creep to the surface. Last summer, while playing for his native Spain, Abrines had to sit out most of the FIBA EuroBasket tournament  with knee issues. Because of the knee issues, Abrines was unable to fully implement an offseason training regiment and as a result, came to camp a little out of shape. Using the first 2 months of the season as a training camp, Abrines eventually found himself a featured part of the rotation and stayed healthy throughout the season, save for a couple minor injuries here and there. Continue reading →