Thunder GM Presti Discusses Offseason, Roster, Future, More

The Thunder parted ways with longtime starter Luguentz Dort and key regular season reserves Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins this offseason, but longtime head of basketball operations Sam Presti believes the team is well-positioned for success in 2026/27, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

“I think the team last year had another level to it,” Presti said Thursday in his annual preseason news conference. “I think we could have got to another level. But I think in due time, like I said earlier, this particular group of players, if we stay healthy, if it has time together, it has a chance to be as good if not better than any of the teams we’ve had.”

Presti later said part of his confidence stems from the core trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Oklahoma City has won the most regular season games in the NBA each of the past two seasons and won the championship in 2025.

“We have three guys, two of which are not even in their prime, that are All-NBA players, and also the other guy that’s a back-to-back MVP [Gilgeous-Alexander], and he’s only getting better as well in his prime,” Presti said.

Still, Presti said it was “certainly disappointing” to part ways with Dort, Joe and Wiggins in three separate cost-cutting trades that netted Oklahoma City seven round-picks without having to take any salary back in return. He praised all three players for their contributions, per Holmes, and said the team will obviously have to make some lineup changes as a result.

“We have to give ourselves time to figure out the best way to position this team because those guys played a lot,” Presti said. “They were big influences on things. We’re going to have to kind of learn a new way, which is healthy.”

Here’s more from Presti’s hour-and-a-half press conference:

• Presti told The Oklahoman in July that trading Dort was a financial decision rather than a basketball one and suggested he was told by ownership that the savings generated from dealing Dort, Joe and Wiggins would be reinvested in the team down the line. He reiterated that’s still his understanding of the situation on Thursday, according to Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. “What I would say is that’s certainly our anticipation and our expectation,” Presti said. “But I would also say I’ve done this long enough to know that things certainly can change, so I don’t want to sit here and be definitive about that. I would say it’ll probably be another round of conversations like those that were had this past summer. I’ll do a lot of listening. I’ll try to understand where everybody is. Then we’ll know what we have to work with, and we’ll attack it from there.“
• Presti added that the Thunder have a “rare and unique opportunity” to continue to contend for titles. “I would say the thing we have to balance — and everybody is aware of this — is just honoring the moment and the rare and unique opportunity that we have with this particular team and this particular group of guys,” Presi said. “Because what makes this group of guys so unique isn’t just that they fit together on the floor and they play well together on the floor. It’s their connection with one another, which is really where you get the marginal gains with this particular group.”
• Williams was limited to just 33 regular season contests last season due to wrist and hamstring ailments and only appeared in five of the team’s 15 playoff games in the spring. Presti said the star wing has put those injuries behind him, per Martinez. “He’s worked extremely hard,” Presti said. “He looks fantastic. He looks great. He’s playing great. We’re looking forward to him being himself again.”
• Former lottery pick Cason Wallace is eligible for a rookie scale extension through October 19. Presti didn’t directly address those conversations, but he praised the All-Defensive guard Thursday and suggested the Dort trade opened up a clearer for the 22-year-old, as Thunder Film Room relays (Twitter video link). “I think the greatest sign of respect we could’ve shown Cason is moving Lu in that trade. … It’s a bit of a gesture to him to say we think you can have a great role on this team, we believe in you as a player, and we’re hopeful all that can work out,” Presti said.
• Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber will both be limited participants in training camp, according to Presti, who noted both players have had long layoffs due to injuries (Twitter link via Rylan Stiles of SI.com). Topic missed his rookie season due to a torn ACL, then was treated for testicular cancer last season and underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy in June.
• Presti’s media session also covered Oklahoma City’s plans for the 15th and final standard roster spot (Twitter link via Martinez), Presti’s thoughtful remarks on the second tax apron (Twitter links via Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder), and Russell Westbrook’s retirement (comments in Martinez’s story above), among other topics.