Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams remind us what it is all about

The Oklahoma City Thunder have wrapped up a fantastic offseason, transactionally. Of course, recent injuries to Chet Holmgren, who will miss the entire season, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who will miss some time early on with an injury, have put a damper on it. But Sam Presti made all the right moves this summer, including re-signing Kenrich Williams and Lu Dort.

The OKC Thunder have a plethora of picks and are looking to complete their rebuild and take a step into contention soon. While the organization is not ready to compete during the 2022-23 season, it would be fairly shocking if the 2023 offseason passes and the Thunder are not at a point where the fan base truly believes in their playoff arrival. Two players that will be called on to usher in a new competitive era of Thunder basketball are Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams.

The Oklahoma City Thunder got it right when they gave Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams new contracts, and they remind us what this is all about

This summer, the OKC Thunder declined Lu Dort’s contract option to give him a five-year pact that runs the length of his fellow Canadian teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s deal. Dort discussed wanting to re-sign in OKC and said “I appreciated the organization to trust me, I feel like I have grown so much here, I am happy to stay here for the next five years.”

Kenrich Williams spoke on his new contract with the OKC Thunder, saying he felt “Blessed.” added it felt good to be valued by the organization. Williams went on to say he celebrated it with his wife and his mom, his family,  and “it’s speechless when something like that happens.” He finished his answer by saying “my hard work, it all paid off.”

Hearing these two players discuss what it was like for them to cash in on these deals after both going undrafted and fighting, clawing their way to this point, was eye-opening and reminded all of us what this is all about. Their hard work paid off, and now will be blessings for generations to come.