OKC Thunder: Presti hints at Derrick Favors role this season

On Monday, September 27th the NBA will host media days all over the association. The OKC Thunder will feature their typical sessions but in advance, executive vice president, and general manager Sam Presti met with the media on Friday.

The front office master offered up his typical session with a brief statement and answered copious questions from the media in attendance. Presti touched on various aspects of the team’s plans for the upcoming season and to no one’s surprise, the club will be invested in growing the team’s young assets.

Unspoken but known is the Thunder also plan on tanking this season in an effort to improve their draft position in 2022.  The hope in 2021 was to land in one of the top three positions but the club performed better than anticipated and those darn bingo balls bounced the wrong way. In hindsight, if their sixth pick — Josh Giddey ends up performing to his ceiling missing out on Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green or Evan Mobley could well be a moot point.

The 2021-22 iteration of the roster differs from last season in there are fewer veterans on the team to start the season. While it’s important the team doesn’t overachieve again it’s still very important to develop and grow the young assets.

Presti suggests Favors will assume a defensive leadership role on OKC Thunder

The OKC Thunder has a few principles that define the club and defense is a core tenet. Understandably, head coach Mark Daigneault will emphasize keeping that focus. One player who’ll be a key to maintaining the defensive end of the hardwood was offseason addition Derrick Favors.

Presti commented specifically about Favors stating

"“With Derrick, one of the things he brings for us is he’s got a great defensive stability. He’s got a great physicality to him. He’s a pro. I’m excited to see how he fits in with the team. Again, we have to see how the season unfolds, and we’ve done that every year, but the last two years, I think that was really important for us to let that happen and not make any kind of predetermined judgments. But I think he can help the team, absolutely.”"

Favors comes with a wealth of experience and played the majority of his time in Utah. Ten of his 11 years in the league were spent playing for the Jazz. That’s a huge benefit for coach Daigneault as the big man knows intricate defensive schemes and has functioned in a capacity where he helped nurture the youngsters on the Jazz.

The Georgia Tech alum will assume the role of one of the defensive leaders on this club, particularly with the young big men. Luguentz Dort is the best defender on the squad but he’s still a youngster in this league so even he’ll benefit from Favors’ vast knowledge.

As my cohort Rylan Stiles noted, Rudy Gobert praised Favors for pushing him in practice sessions which bodes well for the Thunder. Gobert is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner, so this is high praise.

Last season, Favors averaged 5.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 68 games playing an average of 15.3 minutes per game. More importantly, he registered a positive 1.8 defensive box plus/minus this past season.

Thunder Nation can look forward to a solid veteran voice from Favors this season.