Rumors

Sam Presti and the front office of the Oklahoma City Thunder typically handle their business in stealth mode, but they have surfaced in some level of trade conversations heading into the February 5th NBA trade deadline with the possibility of targeting a center. "Here's an interesting name: Isaiah Hartenstein," said Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective Podcast. "He's got a team option next year for $29 million. I've actually heard the Oklahoma City Thunder's name in some trade chatter."

RealGM

The Thunder have an increasing payroll as the extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren begin as they become dramatically more expensive. "Why would the Oklahoma City Thunder's name be out there? And why would the Oklahoma City Thunder's name be out there potentially looking at centers?" added Windhorst.

RealGM

Anthony Morrow: Right now San Antonio is like the little brother of Oklahoma City. Like they're right in the same path. Like you see how Sam Presti has developed this team to be what they are now. It's the same as what San Antonio was with developing who they were and they've been sustainable. Shout out to Coach Popovich, RC Buford, doing that work over there and just the development, and I know Sam kind of took that blueprint and went there with it. I would love to see them in the Western Conference Finals every year for the next five years or something like that because they still young.

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[SGA] to Sam Presti: “When I first arrived at OKC you gave me the book ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’. You explained the meaning behind it and the next few years were very rough… When we won the championship you gave me a statue of the tortoise. I keep that beside my championship ring and MVP trophy.”

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Brandon Rahbar: SGA: “Sam told me this a long time ago: Success isn’t linear. It goes up and down. Every team goes through rough patches. No team has gone 82-0 for a reason..”

x.com

Rival executives are predicting a quiet deadline for the Thunder. They're 6-6 in their previous 12 games, but there's a sense that it's more of an inevitable lull than some fatal roster flaw for the 30-7 defending champions. If general manager Sam Presti did go searching for an upgrade, he has plenty of draft assets to dangle. But the rotation is chock-full and the Thunder's future financial flexibility is limited. Extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren kick in next season, bumping their combined salary from $20.2 million to $83 million. -- Anthony Slater

ESPN

None of those moves was as monumental as the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to fire Nico Harrison, whose ill-fated decision to send Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in February seems destined to go down as one of the worst trades of all time. But from Sacramento to New Orleans, Denver, Atlanta, Phoenix and Toronto, the top roster builder was shown the door, in essence, because they failed to keep up with the Prestis. To no one’s surprise, longtime Thunder president of basketball operations Sam Presti and his staff were the winners of this honor for the second consecutive season. Yet the unique part about what Presti and his group are doing, and the thing that helped them extend their lead on the rest of the field from last time around, is that they’re still building at an elite level during this time when the current roster looks worthy of evolving into a dynasty as it is. As our John Hollinger details below, that’s a remarkable feat to pull off. From there, though, there were all kinds of shifts in the reputational rankings that are worth chronicling.

New York Times

Of course, the Thunder are No. 1. How could they not be, after rolling through the league with 68 regular-season wins and a historic victory margin to win their first championship and still having a cupboard full of draft assets and one of the youngest rosters in the league going forward? Have I mentioned that it’s possible they could win the championship and draft lottery in 2026? “The best-ever job of acquiring future assets while dominating in the present,” said one voter. “Usually, those two are a little exclusive when you’re talking about championship-level teams. Sam Presti is just the preeminent GM in the league.” The Thunder also have one of the largest staffs in the league and have filled their front office with clever people from different backgrounds. — John Hollinger

New York Times

“Besides Sam being really good at his job, he has people like (vice presidents of basketball operations) Jesse Gould and Wynn Sullivan that are excellent at what they do as well,” said another voter. “Those guys handle the strategy portion of things and set the path for the future. They do a great job of being forward-thinking and not just trying to copy people.” — John Hollinger

New York Times

Sam Presti is far from alone in his admiration for Robert Caro. Caro's four-volume series on Johnson has sold more than 1 million copies, and there are museum exhibits devoted to the writer and his work. All six of his books have been featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review, and the last one, released in 2012, was reviewed in The Times by former President Bill Clinton. None has gone out of print; last year, "The Power Broker," which turned 50, sold more than 40,000 copies in its 74th printing. Late night talk-show host Conan O'Brien, one of Caro's biggest fans, told The Times of Caro's work, "The Lyndon Johnson books by Caro, it's our Harry Potter." But it is Presti's repeated vocal appreciation of Caro's exhaustive approach that is notable. Over his 60-year reporting career, Caro has interviewed thousands of people and turned over hundreds of thousands of pages.

ESPN

Brandon Rahbar: Sam Presti’s full Oklahoma Hall of Fame speech is a must watch for every OKC fan and Oklahoman. “Of all the things I admire and appreciate about Oklahoma, this is one of the strongest: This place doesn’t just talk about the power of community, it has lived it. Again and again.”

x.com

Police are investigating a break-in at the Nichols Hillshome of Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Police say the break-in happened around 10 p.m. Thursday, during the Thunder’s game at the Paycom Center against the Washington Wizards. Sources tell News 9 no one was inside the home at the time. A heavy police presence could be seen in the neighborhood for several hours as officers searched the property. Thunder General Manager Sam Presti was spotted at the scene.

news9.com

Michael Scotto: Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti says Nikola Topic is being treated for testicular cancer with chemotherapy. Doctors are “extremely positive” about his outlook, Presti said. 🙏🏼

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Hartenstein has been involved in 29 charitable efforts since arriving in Oklahoma City last summer, from partnering with a group that supports homeless children to donating and distributing meals on Thanksgiving to hosting clinics at local Boys & Girls Clubs. "Sam does a good job of instilling that in us," Hartenstein said of the Oklahoma Standard. "I think Sam also does a good job of bringing in the right people. I think that's the special thing about this organization. We're talented, but I think everyone cares about the community. I don't think you find that a lot, but you have to give a lot of respect for Sam doing his research on finding the right people too, and also just building a culture -- that we're part of the community."

ESPN