Another early playoff oust and another OKC Thunder season ending, press conference with Sam Presti where we’re left with more questions than answers.
OKC Thunder General Manager, Sam Presti held his annual end of season press conference on Monday to offer insight on the 2018-19 season and answer pundits questions. After a third consecutive first-round exit from the playoffs, there was undoubtedly a few specific concerns fans were anxious to hear Presti’s response to.
While Presti is forthright in his interaction with the media it is typical for him to center on the positives rather than the negatives. This year’s conference didn’t deviate from that pattern. The only areas where Presti conceded in this regard were the team’s poor performance in March, free throw shooting struggles, and not having another wing(s) option in place given the exit of Alex Abrines. These points were revisited several times in his responses which on its own is a bit disconcerting as it avoids addressing the larger concerns.
No one expects Presti to come out publicly and trash the team or focus solely on negatives. That said, there are specific concerns and issues this team must address to stop repeating the cycle. Especially a team who houses two superstars and is consistently one of the higher salaried squads in the Association.
To that end, Presti touched on how successful the franchise has fared making nine of 11 postseasons in franchise history. The winning culture of the franchise is relevant especially as a talking point for free agents. It reinforces how committed ownership is to winning. The issue with this, of course, is the fact in the past three seasons the team has won just four games and lost 12. Everyone has their own opinion on the reason for deja vu season endings and often Russell Westbrook carries the brunt of the criticism. This year there are other factors that can be cited and Presti himself should be reviewed as he is the architect of the roster.
With that, let’s look at the five key takeaways from Presti’s season ending, press conference.