Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti spoke with the media on Monday to conduct his exit interview and answered a variety of questions during his over two hours-long press conference. One of the topics brought up was just how much longer he can envision himself as the Thunder GM.
Presti has been on the job since 2007 and concluded his 14th season under the helm, which makes him one of the longest-tenured general managers in the NBA. Despite being a seasoned veteran, Presti is still the young age of 44 years old. When asked about his long-term future with the franchise, Presti deflected giving a definitive answer but states that he loves working for Oklahoma City and that he is currently focused on the short term of returning the franchise to contention again. Here’s his full response:
“Well, the first thing I’d say, when you’re asking that question, what was running through my mind was the team. Like when you’re saying — I was thinking you were saying the team is so important to the community, the team is so — I’m just, like I said before, a representative of that, of the logo, as I would say everyone that works for the organization is.
I do think the team is important to the community. Myself, I don’t really think about it in those contexts. I think that — I think this is a great place. I think that the Thunder is really, really critical to so many different aspects of Oklahoma City, and I hope it stays that way.
As far as myself individually, I don’t really think like that. Like I’ve never been one that thinks about — I just kind of focus, like this is where I am, this is what I need to do. I know I’m not going to be the last general manager for the Thunder because there’s an end to everything, but I’m not thinking about that right now. I am laser focused on how do we make sure that the team is positioned and set up as great as it can be. I love being a part of that. I love being a part of that.
But my mind doesn’t go to like all the different — all that stuff.”
