By Michael Doutey

Notes from Sam Presti’s State of the Thunder Address

Sam Presti had his State of the Thunder Address Thursday morning. He spoke for an hour on all things Thunder just a few days before Monday’s Media Day and Tuesday’s first day of training camp.

— Presti’s opening statement begins talking about entering into the 11th season in OKC, which he says time has flown by. He mentions the new OU Medicine partnership that was announced yesterday.

— Russ and PG will be leaders of this team. He’s excited to see what they do as leaders in the post Nick Collison era.

— Identity of play. He wants to constantly evolve this area. He wants the team to have a defensive identity. He wants them to be consistent defensively with every team, not just a select few that they matchup with. Just because the they have a roster that should be good defensively, he wants them to stress and be good over it as a whole team.

— Speed and tempo. Wants to be faster making decisions. Wants to be faster with how they bounce back from things. Still he wants to play fast and still be efficient. He wants to play in rhythm, which leads to efficiency. He really stresses efficiency.

— Presti wants to be playing their best at the end of the season. They want to constantly be a work in progress till the end of the season when they will be their best self. This is a staple at every Thunder preseason presser.

— Continuity. Build something sustainable. Thinks Billy and staff have help with continuity. Other than losing Melo and adding Dennis, the core is the same. Cites injury could hold some of that back. But this is the first time under Billy that the roster hasn’t been changed in a major way.

— Won’t push Russ onto floor because the season starts. He will be reevaluated soon but says it was minor procedure, but he still has to work through it. Says having Dennis is separate from this, but situationally it is helpful with Russ out.

— Says Dennis will get plenty of work with PG, Billy and the rest of the team while Russ is out. But it’s good knowing Russ at some point will come back.

— Dre. He is doing well. Will go through non-contact work through camp. Next step is being cleared for contact. He doesn’t feel like they will be without him long but won’t put a timetable on it. He is doing more this week compared to last week. But says next step is getting cleared for contact.

— Presti would love to have more shooting. Says on paper he recognizes they aren’t a great shooting team. Says they could go out and get someone but they would have to be better than that player and have no deficiencies, or they could get better internally and have guys step up and make some shots. Also, he looks at what type of shots are they taking. He wants to try and find efficient shots that they are good at taking and making.

— Gave out book “The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams” to organization. Talks about swinging at pitches you’re good at hitting. Thinks that method of thinking helps with their shot selection. Take shots they are good at making.

— Dennis. Notes that he is young. Just 24. Younger than Steven and Alex. But has a ton of experience. Has skill set that help with paint attacks. Doesn’t want to put limitations or anything like that. But says they have had history of good play with an elite ball handler next to Russ. Says he can help on defense and can be an elite defender and wants to help get him there.

— Presti looks at tempo to lead to efficiency which will in turn become consistent play. Tempo plays to best guys strengths on both side of the ball. Tempo is not just offense. It is also a mentality. 

— Billy sees it as a positive to have another guy who can dribble and live in the lane, like Dennis next to Russ. They want to have creative play with both of them on the floor at the same time.

— Dennis legal matter. Presti would only say that he doesn’t see that it would be a distraction for the team. Dennis is cooperating with authorities.

— Presti says they don’t play Russ high minutes. But he doesn’t feel like he will lose much in terms of regression due to age. Thinks Russ still has several years in his prime. Says that players once they hit 30 that their shooting numbers go up. Says Russ is still in his prime. Does’t see regression as a big issue and expects shooting numbers to go up.

— Presti knows that Billy really likes both Jerami and Pat, so he is interested to see who he goes with to start at the 4. Praised Billy for finding ways to use Jerami at center when he is a four. He created value there. Think that because Nerles Noel is here that Grant will play more four.

— Mo Cheeks. Presti says Mo is a great ambassador. Says he loved most that he has class and humility. Thinks its good for young people to see.

— He’s very excited about Nerles. He is a good passer and they want to utilize that. Had other places he could have gone for more money. OKC had an uphill battle to recruit him, but he ended up coming to OKC. He’s worked hard this offseason. Wants to help develop him and identify who he is a player and make him better. He can switch on defense. He can block shots.

— Steven Adams. People forget he is just 25. His improvement is so steady it is hard to recognize. Says he can have a huge impact because by doing things in his control. How fast he runs the floor. Gets in and out of picks quickly, rim runs, knowledge of the game and physicality. Brings up the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team and their culture. When he plays selfless, like the All Blacks, he is a game changer for them in controllable areas. Expects him to take another jump this year, but his selflessness is biggest help.

— Communication with Nick Collison is like every other summer. They want to help him do whatever he feels like he is next. They will recognize him, but he doesn’t know when or what it will  look like. Collison is spending time with family. He’ll always be a person valued to OKC’s organization. Says that Collison will be around some this season, like we’ve seen Nazr Mohammed.

— He doesn’t think teams are modeling themselves after the Thunder and the PG situation (like with Kawhi and Jimmy Butler). Says every situation is its own and they are all too different to model.

— Happy they have stability with guys who are signed for several years. A solid core. And then they have developmental guys. Especially with the upcoming cap spike, he really likes where they are.

— Presti announced he was up all night after having twin girls. Like Russ, he has a toddler son and now they will have two twin girls. Everyone is healthy and good.