Translation: Thunder general manager Presti urges fans who are used to winning to be more patient

The Oklahoma City Thunder doesn't care about playoff seats or winning or losing games.

The Thunder have only missed the playoffs once in the past eleven seasons, but they fell into the draft lottery with a record of 22 wins and 50 losses last season. General Manager Sam Presti puts the team's focus on helping young talented players, led by SGA, thrive, so that the Thunder can eventually become a competitive team again.

"This year is very important to us, we need to bottom out. Now we have a bunch of young players who will compete with each other to choose who is eligible to stay on the team for a long time and who can help us create The next Thunder era," Presti said. "I think this is very exciting, but I also think it is necessary."

Presti said that fans need to be patient, because Oklahoma is not the first choice for free agents. And there is no rapid reconstruction plan for small and medium-sized football teams. He said that it is unrealistic to immediately reproduce the brilliance of Adu and Westbrook in the finals and four in the west.

"If you want to lower your expectations, you can change the way you build a team and focus more on short-term goals," he said. "But if you want a team that is invincible every year, you can't do it. You can't imagine that you can rebuild quickly or have shortcuts."

The Thunder has overflowing talents. .

SGA led the team with 23.7 points and 5.9 assists per game last season. He shot 51% from the field and 42% from three-pointers.He will welcome the new season with a healthy attitude. He missed the game due to a torn plantar fascia in the last two months of last season. He signed a maximum salary contract in the offseason, and he is ready to prove that he is worthy of this contract.

"This is a dream come true," he said. "I am very proud and very happy. But I know that for me, the work has not been completed and the responsibilities have yet to be fulfilled. This is just a milestone I want to cross off the list, but I still have 90% of the content on the list, so I won't stop."

forward Darius Beazley averaged 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds last season. Guard Luganz-Dort is a blockade defender who played more of an offensive role at the end of last season, averaging 24.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and shooting 46% in April.

Presti believes that things are moving in the right direction.

"I think until the end, when we played high-level basketball in Oklahoma, when the mood on the court was ignited, when we entered the playoffs, fans who witnessed the hardships that we came along the way They will understand everything, and they will think back to our blue wisps," he said.

The stunning Josh Gidi

Australian defender Josh Gidi is the sixth pick in 2021. He is 6 feet 8 inches tall and looks ready to enter the league in his debut. . In the preseason opener against the Hornets on October 4, he scored 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists on 8 of 12 shots.

"Tonight's data didn't worry me," he said after the game. "This is more to feel NBA ,Adapt to the rhythm and confrontation intensity of the game. "

Derek Favors

Favors is a 6-foot-10 big man who has the opportunity to provide leadership and stable game performance for the Thunder. The 12-year veteran averaged 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. In July of this year, the Thunder exchanged the 2027 second-round pick and cash from the Jazz for him and a future first-round draft pick. Right. Favors will be back home soon: The Thunder’s season opener will start in Utah on October 20.

A stronger Bezley

Bezley says he is off The season has always been focused on improving strength. He was too thin in the first two seasons, but now he has some strength to match his amazing jumping ability.

"After the season, I took a two-week vacation and then Just go straight to the subject," he said. "I worked out a plan with the fitness coaches and we stuck to it. ...It makes me feel good, and my hard work has paid off. In order to welcome the upcoming new season, I work hard to become stronger in the gym.

second-year potential stocks

rookies Theo Maleton and Alexei Pokushevsky, who had outstanding performances last year, are back.

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French point guard Maleton made 49 starts as a point guard last season, averaging 10.1 points and 3.5 assists per game. Pokushevski is a 7-foot wing player from Serbia He averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. In the closing game of the regular season against the Los Angeles Clippers last season, Poco scored 29 points.

Dyke’s Olympic experience

forward Gabriel Dyke represented Argentina in the Olympic Games. He averaged 11.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game until Argentina lost to Australia in the quarterfinals .

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