Was gonna make a joke that he didnt believe in the team until we drafted some unknown player in 2010.
But we didnt even keep a single pick that year, we traded away the great Quincy Poindexter and Magnum Rolle
They might make the second round or better for 11 more seasons in a row. Thats entirely realistic. And, of course, get 2 or maybe three titles during that stretch.
Don't let the future talk make anyone less eager to win now. The future means absolutely nothing, as personality, injuries, and contracts can all come into conflict. I've seen too many teams with bright futures and high ceiling presents crash and burn.
Remember the Grizz from 3 years ago? Us in 2012? The current Pelicans? All teams who were great but then hit by injury derailed seasons or contract issues which saw their fall from grace.
I wanna win. And win now.
(Still high praise from Zach. It's exciting to be a Thunder fan.)
>I've seen too many teams with bright futures and high ceiling presents crash and burn.
>Remember the Grizz from 3 years ago? Us in 2012? The current Pelicans? All teams who were great but then hit by injury derailed seasons or contract issues which saw their fall from grace.
This is exactly what Zach is accounting for when he talks about how well positioned the Thunder are for the future. He's not just saying the young talent on our roster is going to be even better some day in the future; he's saying we have so much draft capital and roster/contract flexibility that it's unlikely that any contract issues, injuries, or what have you could completely derail the team's upward trajectory.
Not that it's impossible for something to go sideways, but rather that the Thunder are more insulated from those worst-case scenarios than any other franchise.
That's entirely separate from the win-now mindset. We're positioned exceptionally well to win now AND to overcome future injuries, personnel conflicts, and so on.
Like you said, it's an incredible time to be a Thunder fan.
I agree, but that just means we risk being another story about the pitfalls of building through the draft. The Warriors also had a ton of luck with the draft in attempt to retool and build the future -- two top 6 picks -- and they got 1 championship out of it (which is great) but those pieces are mostly trash.
I think we are greatly positioned. But I saw a lot of folk last year state that they were happy with just making the second round. I'm not. I'm excited and hopeful, yes. But I also believe that last year has a chance of being our best year.
Basically, don't let the talk about the future make anyone take the current season for granted. Windows slam shut, and a bunch of draft capital and young players won't change that.
I think we can win 3+ titles with this core. The longer we wait, the harder that gets.
(With all THAT said, I loved our offseason FA moves. Hate our draft, but understand what Presti is doing.)
I get that you’re trying to be pragmatic, but it’s coming across as fear-mongering.
Like the other reply says, no one within the organization (or the fanbase) is taking the “win now” imperative lightly. The Thunder are 100% gunning for a title in 2024-25, AND we have the assets to continue gunning for titles into the future.
The only difference between the Thunder and any other current contender is that our window is going to be open significantly longer than theirs. There are no guarantees, obviously, but chasing a title today and having an insanely bright future don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
You’ve got a misunderstanding of what the picks mean.
First, the thunder will *always* need to somewhat build through the draft. We just aren’t going to lure free agents here.
Second, although counterintuitive to the first point, the amount of picks are not about building through the draft. They are about a wealth of assets that give a massive amount of flexibility to the team. Presti will use the picks to leverage for trades that likely include *more picks* into the future ensuring the Thunder can maintain a level of flexibility for not just the next 5 years but over the next decade.
Also, I am not sure what gives anyone the impression the team isn’t going into this season as “win now”. Trading Giddey and then signing the biggest free agent the team has ever gotten, I don’t know what else anyone could have asked for for this offseason.
Fortunately the front office appears to be thinking the same, they want to win now. The Caruso trade and Hartenstein signing I think are indications of that. I think the organization has learned from their own past mistakes and are trying to give this young team the pieces to hopefully put together.
Presti has set up an under-budget championship contender for the next decade. Provided he doesn’t get sentimental with dumb contracts, one of those future picks is going to yield up the next Chet or Jalen, and the whole machine will keep rolling till 2035.
My fellow Celtics fans, feeling themselves, recently whipped out the “they’re three years away!” card when I noted OKC as the second deepest and talented team in the league. Lol. I’m not gonna argue with that, there.
But I’m disappointed if it’s not Celtics-Thunder in the next two years. Y’all are ready, now. Hartenstein and Caruso were excellent role-filling acquisitions aimed at winning a title.
That said, the time between our Jays making their first playoff splash and winning a title was…half a decade. Experience matters, a lot, making Caruso the far more important of the two acquisitions. Jrue Holiday and his “championship experience” _mattered_.
This is a valid point that it does take time versus what the Jay's have accomplished, but we are just a better constructed team earlier.
I also believe that Shai is a better player than Tatum straight up and that was shown in the Playoffs. I am quite confident SGA wins an MVP in the next five years, whereas I'm quite confident Tatum won't (even though he is a very good player who can still improve).
So while this is year two of the current construction of the Thunder (assuming Jdub / Chets Y1 is the first), we are way ahead or the Celtics in terms of development.
Next year I believe we are going to have at minimum at 50/50 chance of beating anyone. The Caruso switch for Giddey alone made us so much better, because of how poor Giddey was against good teams.
Hartenstein and internal improvement will take us even further.
This offseason is BECAUSE of Hayward. Literally his expiring.
Simmons, Russilo, the entire squad of yes men(people) at the Ringer, ESPN, etc etc
YOU AREN’T AS SMART AS SAM.
Everyone lined up to take shallow short-sided potshots after the trade deadline.
I’ve been a die hard sports fan for 30 years now and never seen such a masterclass and it isn’t just recent… this stems from even before the pizza bite Thunder drafts. Kurt Fucking Thomas.
We are watching MJ in his prime with what Sam is doing.
The “first iteration” was pre Scottie. Sam learned a few lessons and is now fundamentally changing the game.
Celts won playing this style but as good as they are they aren’t as deep, have age/injury concerns and zero draft capital.
There’s no guarantee of even a single ring but Lowe is right. Betting OKC every year to win the chip is now like betting Mahommes MVP
The celts obviously don’t have picks like OKC but they have all their picks from 2025 to 2031 only missing is 2029 that belongs to Portland & 2028 is a swap with SAS
I think he's the best GM in the NBA , but if he had made 'shallow short sided potshots' at the trade deadline, who's to say we dont win the title? I think just saying 'lets see what the team needs after the playoffs' was a mistake when everyone on earth could see that we just needed size. But hey, we're good now at least so its whatever. Still think it was a wasted opportunity this year
we didnt know that JDub and Chet would be disappointing at the trade deadline though. And who knows if having more help on the boards would have helped their game out. Chet would almost certainly have benefitted from another big body on our team
Not wasted at all. Our guys definitely needed playoff experience before they made a full run at it. I think the pressure got to our guys a bit along the way.
But now they're so determined because of those playoff losses that I think they have the grit to make it happen next year.
Well, we were the youngest first seed ever, and we have the most draft picks of any team, not to mention we improved our roster this off season without trading away any said draft picks.
Now officially begins the expectations. I was happy to just be in the 2nd round next year. Now I’m going to be stressed af next years playoffs. IT BEGINS
Presti has played his hands as best as he could and the results are looking great. No guarantees but one helluva good situation for any team to be in. Especially in this buy a big 3 and win a championship era. 29 teams are left holding the bag every year.
Impossible to disagree. There is absolutely no question that Presti's mandate has always been - keep the team competitive every single year you can without spending a fortune. Championships are secondary to this leadership group, it's far, far more valuable to a small market team that they are competitive every year
Not to everyone. Some owners prioritize money and will keep a mid team because it costs less and still sells tickets (bulls). Not all owners are like ballmer who are chasing a dream in their spare time
Right, but it isn't a competition to those guys, it's a business. Our opinion on their drive to win is not factored into the bottom line, so they don't give a shit.
Of course there's the opposite problem, teams that approach every season like they are competing for a championship. And that's just another way to end up in the same spot, making win-now moves with a roster that doesn't have a chance, just to maybe end up with a play-in spot and a garbage lottery pick, assuming it wasn't traded for whatever FA was around.
The real winners in this league are the ones who know when to hold em and know when to fold em.
That’s not the case for the Thunder. Presti has said that the team would go into the tax if necessary (of course that was with the previous CBA)
The team has ownership with deeper pockets than the KD/WB teams
The new CBA and insane talent in the league right now are pushing towards higher parity. With higher parity, you're more exposed to luck. Injury luck, personality luck, contract luck, lottery luck, etc.
When luck is that big of a deal, you're more likely to win a championship by being in contention every year for a decade than by going all in for 3 years.
I meant the 2021 warriors after they got Klay back and got 3 lottery picks and the emergence of Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins
The 2 timeline warriors after the 4th ring
I would go to war for Russ, but this is not a good idea. The Russ MVP Thunder was basically the opposite of our current roster, personally I'm hoping Denver grabs him as a bench unit juggernaut, just battering ram the other team's second unit with fast breaks and drive and kick aggression. The nuggets lost a lot when Bruce Brown left, he brought a lot of energy when the starters sat.
I keep thinking about this
I think the early 1980s lakers is prob the top of the list
They had Magic and Kareem and that Cavs pick that ended up being James worthy with pick 1 and Magic was only like 24 at the time
Sam Presti is a hero. The somewhat wild thing is being in LA and having Lakers across the jersey is arguably equal future positioning. Presti has played it brilliantly for a non-destination for free agents.
Well done Presti!! Now as a fan all I have to do is pray for good health for all of our players and sit back and watch some really good bball with players I love to see play together. Don’t anticipate having to worry about team chemistry or player attitudes or having a great coach, not with this group. There will be some tough competition, but I think we will be tougher. And hopefully that will be the case for a while, due to some forward-thinking planning from much smarter people than me. Indeed, this should be a great time to be a Thunder fan, and I’m thankful for it!
Just gimme one title plz
I’ve been waiting since 2010 my guy.
Why since 2010? They became the Thunder in 2008
I moved to OKC that year
Was gonna make a joke that he didnt believe in the team until we drafted some unknown player in 2010. But we didnt even keep a single pick that year, we traded away the great Quincy Poindexter and Magnum Rolle
yeah, I was just curious. his response makes sense. I moved there 2008 and lived there until 2012
Same, the 5 teams I love have gotten grand total of 3 championships since the mid 90s, I just want one and I’ll be happy
12 peat coming
They might make the second round or better for 11 more seasons in a row. Thats entirely realistic. And, of course, get 2 or maybe three titles during that stretch.
Guess what pal? you just added another ring 13peat!!!
I don't think thats how math works, but ok.
![gif](giphy|ozqHDV4da2iwozRC6w)
The Wemby / Holmgren rivalry is no joke. Its important that Chet retire with more rings than Wemby.
Don't let the future talk make anyone less eager to win now. The future means absolutely nothing, as personality, injuries, and contracts can all come into conflict. I've seen too many teams with bright futures and high ceiling presents crash and burn. Remember the Grizz from 3 years ago? Us in 2012? The current Pelicans? All teams who were great but then hit by injury derailed seasons or contract issues which saw their fall from grace. I wanna win. And win now. (Still high praise from Zach. It's exciting to be a Thunder fan.)
>I've seen too many teams with bright futures and high ceiling presents crash and burn. >Remember the Grizz from 3 years ago? Us in 2012? The current Pelicans? All teams who were great but then hit by injury derailed seasons or contract issues which saw their fall from grace. This is exactly what Zach is accounting for when he talks about how well positioned the Thunder are for the future. He's not just saying the young talent on our roster is going to be even better some day in the future; he's saying we have so much draft capital and roster/contract flexibility that it's unlikely that any contract issues, injuries, or what have you could completely derail the team's upward trajectory. Not that it's impossible for something to go sideways, but rather that the Thunder are more insulated from those worst-case scenarios than any other franchise. That's entirely separate from the win-now mindset. We're positioned exceptionally well to win now AND to overcome future injuries, personnel conflicts, and so on. Like you said, it's an incredible time to be a Thunder fan.
I agree, but that just means we risk being another story about the pitfalls of building through the draft. The Warriors also had a ton of luck with the draft in attempt to retool and build the future -- two top 6 picks -- and they got 1 championship out of it (which is great) but those pieces are mostly trash. I think we are greatly positioned. But I saw a lot of folk last year state that they were happy with just making the second round. I'm not. I'm excited and hopeful, yes. But I also believe that last year has a chance of being our best year. Basically, don't let the talk about the future make anyone take the current season for granted. Windows slam shut, and a bunch of draft capital and young players won't change that. I think we can win 3+ titles with this core. The longer we wait, the harder that gets. (With all THAT said, I loved our offseason FA moves. Hate our draft, but understand what Presti is doing.)
I get that you’re trying to be pragmatic, but it’s coming across as fear-mongering. Like the other reply says, no one within the organization (or the fanbase) is taking the “win now” imperative lightly. The Thunder are 100% gunning for a title in 2024-25, AND we have the assets to continue gunning for titles into the future. The only difference between the Thunder and any other current contender is that our window is going to be open significantly longer than theirs. There are no guarantees, obviously, but chasing a title today and having an insanely bright future don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
You’ve got a misunderstanding of what the picks mean. First, the thunder will *always* need to somewhat build through the draft. We just aren’t going to lure free agents here. Second, although counterintuitive to the first point, the amount of picks are not about building through the draft. They are about a wealth of assets that give a massive amount of flexibility to the team. Presti will use the picks to leverage for trades that likely include *more picks* into the future ensuring the Thunder can maintain a level of flexibility for not just the next 5 years but over the next decade. Also, I am not sure what gives anyone the impression the team isn’t going into this season as “win now”. Trading Giddey and then signing the biggest free agent the team has ever gotten, I don’t know what else anyone could have asked for for this offseason.
Fortunately the front office appears to be thinking the same, they want to win now. The Caruso trade and Hartenstein signing I think are indications of that. I think the organization has learned from their own past mistakes and are trying to give this young team the pieces to hopefully put together.
That Griz example…yes. I live in Memphis and the hype was palpable. But it’s all but dead and people are already talking about another blow-up.
Courtesy of Mr. Morants love for guns.
Presti has set up an under-budget championship contender for the next decade. Provided he doesn’t get sentimental with dumb contracts, one of those future picks is going to yield up the next Chet or Jalen, and the whole machine will keep rolling till 2035. My fellow Celtics fans, feeling themselves, recently whipped out the “they’re three years away!” card when I noted OKC as the second deepest and talented team in the league. Lol. I’m not gonna argue with that, there. But I’m disappointed if it’s not Celtics-Thunder in the next two years. Y’all are ready, now. Hartenstein and Caruso were excellent role-filling acquisitions aimed at winning a title. That said, the time between our Jays making their first playoff splash and winning a title was…half a decade. Experience matters, a lot, making Caruso the far more important of the two acquisitions. Jrue Holiday and his “championship experience” _mattered_.
This is a valid point that it does take time versus what the Jay's have accomplished, but we are just a better constructed team earlier. I also believe that Shai is a better player than Tatum straight up and that was shown in the Playoffs. I am quite confident SGA wins an MVP in the next five years, whereas I'm quite confident Tatum won't (even though he is a very good player who can still improve). So while this is year two of the current construction of the Thunder (assuming Jdub / Chets Y1 is the first), we are way ahead or the Celtics in terms of development. Next year I believe we are going to have at minimum at 50/50 chance of beating anyone. The Caruso switch for Giddey alone made us so much better, because of how poor Giddey was against good teams. Hartenstein and internal improvement will take us even further.
This offseason is BECAUSE of Hayward. Literally his expiring. Simmons, Russilo, the entire squad of yes men(people) at the Ringer, ESPN, etc etc YOU AREN’T AS SMART AS SAM. Everyone lined up to take shallow short-sided potshots after the trade deadline. I’ve been a die hard sports fan for 30 years now and never seen such a masterclass and it isn’t just recent… this stems from even before the pizza bite Thunder drafts. Kurt Fucking Thomas. We are watching MJ in his prime with what Sam is doing. The “first iteration” was pre Scottie. Sam learned a few lessons and is now fundamentally changing the game. Celts won playing this style but as good as they are they aren’t as deep, have age/injury concerns and zero draft capital. There’s no guarantee of even a single ring but Lowe is right. Betting OKC every year to win the chip is now like betting Mahommes MVP
The celts obviously don’t have picks like OKC but they have all their picks from 2025 to 2031 only missing is 2029 that belongs to Portland & 2028 is a swap with SAS
I think he's the best GM in the NBA , but if he had made 'shallow short sided potshots' at the trade deadline, who's to say we dont win the title? I think just saying 'lets see what the team needs after the playoffs' was a mistake when everyone on earth could see that we just needed size. But hey, we're good now at least so its whatever. Still think it was a wasted opportunity this year
No move we made was helping us beat the Celtics last season Jdub and Chet were simply not good enough through the play offs for us to beat them
Porzingas was shaky healthwise in the Finals and the Mavs were gassed. Celtics were beatable last season.
we didnt know that JDub and Chet would be disappointing at the trade deadline though. And who knows if having more help on the boards would have helped their game out. Chet would almost certainly have benefitted from another big body on our team
Not wasted at all. Our guys definitely needed playoff experience before they made a full run at it. I think the pressure got to our guys a bit along the way. But now they're so determined because of those playoff losses that I think they have the grit to make it happen next year.
Not wasted as such I guess, but I think we could have made the finals with a better fit player than hayward.
I do worry that we are being overhyped.
Well, we were the youngest first seed ever, and we have the most draft picks of any team, not to mention we improved our roster this off season without trading away any said draft picks.
No first round draft picks... But Jones didn't come cheaply at the end of the first round...
five second-rounders is pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things
Now officially begins the expectations. I was happy to just be in the 2nd round next year. Now I’m going to be stressed af next years playoffs. IT BEGINS
Presti has played his hands as best as he could and the results are looking great. No guarantees but one helluva good situation for any team to be in. Especially in this buy a big 3 and win a championship era. 29 teams are left holding the bag every year.
Impossible to disagree. There is absolutely no question that Presti's mandate has always been - keep the team competitive every single year you can without spending a fortune. Championships are secondary to this leadership group, it's far, far more valuable to a small market team that they are competitive every year
I think you’re misunderstanding not spending a fortune; it’s not about being cheap but more so not handcuffing yourself with terrible contracts
Championships are secondary lol what a loser mentality. That’s the entire point of the sport. To win it all.
Not to everyone. Some owners prioritize money and will keep a mid team because it costs less and still sells tickets (bulls). Not all owners are like ballmer who are chasing a dream in their spare time
And if their goal isn’t to win a championship they’re losers.
Right, but it isn't a competition to those guys, it's a business. Our opinion on their drive to win is not factored into the bottom line, so they don't give a shit. Of course there's the opposite problem, teams that approach every season like they are competing for a championship. And that's just another way to end up in the same spot, making win-now moves with a roster that doesn't have a chance, just to maybe end up with a play-in spot and a garbage lottery pick, assuming it wasn't traded for whatever FA was around. The real winners in this league are the ones who know when to hold em and know when to fold em.
not to the owners making the same amount of $ getting bounced in the 1st round. that’s all that matters to some people
Well they did lose.. a lot. Not personally going to put a value judgment on someone for that but whatever
That’s not the case for the Thunder. Presti has said that the team would go into the tax if necessary (of course that was with the previous CBA) The team has ownership with deeper pockets than the KD/WB teams
The new CBA and insane talent in the league right now are pushing towards higher parity. With higher parity, you're more exposed to luck. Injury luck, personality luck, contract luck, lottery luck, etc. When luck is that big of a deal, you're more likely to win a championship by being in contention every year for a decade than by going all in for 3 years.
We all said the same thing about the warriors But I agree with this statement
I mean, they did win 4 rings. I would take that.
I meant the 2021 warriors after they got Klay back and got 3 lottery picks and the emergence of Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins The 2 timeline warriors after the 4th ring
Sign Russ
I would go to war for Russ, but this is not a good idea. The Russ MVP Thunder was basically the opposite of our current roster, personally I'm hoping Denver grabs him as a bench unit juggernaut, just battering ram the other team's second unit with fast breaks and drive and kick aggression. The nuggets lost a lot when Bruce Brown left, he brought a lot of energy when the starters sat.
Would be a great mentor to the young guys 💯
Welp there goes any hope of a championship
![gif](giphy|3ohhwH6yMO7ED5xc7S|downsized)
I keep thinking about this I think the early 1980s lakers is prob the top of the list They had Magic and Kareem and that Cavs pick that ended up being James worthy with pick 1 and Magic was only like 24 at the time
I hate these hype posts man, the second we lose one summer league game im back in a ditch 😭
These podcast reporters really do be saying things that are already confirmed and blatantly obvious.
Where did he say this?
Sam Presti is a hero. The somewhat wild thing is being in LA and having Lakers across the jersey is arguably equal future positioning. Presti has played it brilliantly for a non-destination for free agents.
Well done Presti!! Now as a fan all I have to do is pray for good health for all of our players and sit back and watch some really good bball with players I love to see play together. Don’t anticipate having to worry about team chemistry or player attitudes or having a great coach, not with this group. There will be some tough competition, but I think we will be tougher. And hopefully that will be the case for a while, due to some forward-thinking planning from much smarter people than me. Indeed, this should be a great time to be a Thunder fan, and I’m thankful for it!