Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti was in a story-sharing mood on Monday during his exit interview. The most significant story he shared revolved around Russell Westbrook and the passing of the torch to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the face of the franchise.
Fresh off the phone with the Houston Rockets, Presti was emotionally vulnerable as he just traded the face of the franchise after a long 12-year tenure. The Thunder were suddenly in a rebuild three days after trading Paul George to the LA Clippers for a historic amount of draft picks in the middle of the night. The franchise quickly pivoted to moving Westbrook as the team entered a new phase. It was a bitter pill to swallow as Westbrook was — and still is — essentially a sports deity in Oklahoma.
