While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win the MVP award, the Thunder will dominate the Western Conference. That's according to a recent poll of league coaches and executives. The latter placed the OKC team in second place among the favorites for the title, behind the Celtics.
Not sure Sam Presti, the franchise's GM, was as enthusiastic when it came time to vote. The difference is that expectations from outside are things that some people think should happen. […] but we take into account the difficulty that these things have in happening “, thus nuances the leader.
According to the latter, the Thunder representatives do not want to consider that they are leaving ” with advance ” And this despite the first place in the West obtained at the last minute last year. And despite a sharp summer recruitment (Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein) likely to take the team to another level.
Not perfect cohesion at the restart?
On the contrary, for Sam Presti, this revamped group will ” need some time “. “ We have to let things run their course. Our cohesion won't be perfect from the start, but if you look at the NBA, cohesion or lack of cohesion usually shows up early in the year. “, sums up the leader.
By remaining vague in his speech, the GM thinks that the Thunder will ” having to deal with certain things, even if it means that we won't get immediate benefits or the results won't be particularly good. But ultimately, we'll have to be able to deal with these particular situations, these problems, whatever they may be. »
” We recognize that to be exceptional, to be that team, you have to be willing to be an exception, and for us, that means staying curious, staying open, knowing that you can't find if you don't look. “, the leader still philosophizes, at the origin of one of the most spectacular lightning reconstructions in the league. In just two seasons, the Thunder has thus made a leap… of 33 victories (from 24 to 57).
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