Sam Presti 2018 year end press conference: reading between the lines

Sam Presti held his annual end of season media session and offered some hints to the franchise moving forward.

Every season OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti meets with the media to reflect back on the previous season and look ahead to the future. This season offers much to consider given the underachievement and the precarious offseason which looms. The latter due to the uncertainty over Paul George and the albatross which is Carmelo Anthony.

In the hour-long session, Sam Presti served up some interesting commentary and owned certain failings. Each season the OKC Thunder GM tends to hold his cards close to his chest. However, witnesses of previous pressers can look back and find hints to his plans.

For example, last season when Presti said although he wouldn’t pursue free agents there were a couple he wouldn’t turn down calls about. At the time, I suggested two of those players were likely Jimmy Butler and Paul George. In hindsight, the latter was obviously clearly the player Presti was referencing.

Likewise in this season’s final presser, there were small hints to what the man some deemed the magician is thinking. The key to figuring out Presti has more to do with what he doesn’t say. Or more accurately what he chooses to leave out.

This was especially evident with the words he chose to use when discussing Carmelo Anthony. Repeatedly, Presti praised Anthony for his in season professionalism and noted more than once not to focus on Anthony’s end of season exit interview.