On April 10, 1994, readers of Boston Globe were able to read the letter from a 16-year-old boy, who asked the Celtics “to clean up and free up salary margin” then draft Jason Kidd. In this missive, the young man explains that the vintage is not crazy but that he sees a potential star with the playmaker, who “has the qualities and sense of the game to be a superstar and save the franchise which is in difficulty”.
The author of this letter, found by Ben Kaplan during his research for his book Pipeline to the Pros ? Sam Presti!
Originally from Massachusetts, the current GM of the Thunder had felt the blow since Jason Kidd will be co-rookie of the year 1995 (with Grant Hill), then will above all become an All-Star, an NBA champion (2011), now Hall of Famer since 2018 and member of the 75 best players in NBA history.
“We all know that Sam Presti is intelligent”
But, we know, the playmaker will be drafted by Dallas in second position behind Glenn Robinson. The Celtics have the 9th pick, which they will use to bet on Eric Montross. There would only be two seasons left in Boston and the franchise, which was then experiencing the worst period in its history, would not make it through the first round of the playoffs before 2002…
” He was right. I agree with him, the Celtics should have,” reacts Jason Kidd, with a smile, to this anecdote. “We all know Sam Presti is intelligent. He should have been the GM at 16. It's crazy that at that age he saw this, which Boston should have done. I agree with him. »
A memory, certainly anecdotal, but which allows the Mavericks coach to highlight the current work of the leader, the Thunder having finished the regular season with first place in the Western conference.
“It’s crazy what he built here. Not just this team, but the others before too. He has an eye for spotting talent and he does it at a high level.”concludes the Texan technician.
While researching Pipeline to the Pros, we found the earliest document of Sam Presti's team-building philosophy – a letter to the editor in the Boston Globe on 4/10/94.
Presti argued it was time to “clean house,” “clear salary room,” and draft JKidd
He was just 16 years old. pic.twitter.com/F3OCtaOgwJ
— Ben Kaplan (@bkaplan4) April 19, 2024
