Thunder 2023-2024 Pre-season Presser

[AngryBanana]

Welcome back everyone, I know that we just had an introductory presser not that long ago but I am back. I will also attempt to keep this one short since I just held a presser two weeks ago.

Firstly, lets recap the draft. We held the number two overall pick. I was not even sure I was going to be the GM of the team until it was my turn to pick, so it left me with little time to fully prep for the pick at hand. Prior to becoming GM I though that Kyle Kuzma, Pete Maravich and Boban were all great players who could be taken with my pick. I did not expect Kyle to be taken one (I thought Boban would go there.) So I was left with a precarious situation of having two great players to choose from or to trade back with some interested teams. Ultimately I thought that Pete was the right piece to build my future around both with overall abilities and to my current roster that I had. He has some deficiencies such as stamina and passing/handling but we are working towards that with his TC. We then declined the second round choice instead to go into FA with as much cap as possible.

Going into FA, I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted to carry out round 1. I was going to go after a bunch of players who were middling level guys who can compete and put up numbers, but aren't going to be 20-10 type guys. I want to preserve my cap as best as I can moving forward and build on the core that I have now while still have the flexibility to make moves if the right one is presented to me. A guy like Jamey Brown intrigues me a lot because I think he is the exact type of player I just described. I think he is a grinder that will do some of the dirty work for me. He isn't great at any one thing but he is good enough in several places I was weak at to deserve a shot. Much to that end I also gave contract offers to players like John Wall and Jrue Holdiay with the idea that they are lower level contracts on one to two year deals that can still perform well for me this year hopefully. I also made very little moves in the second round becuase I like where my roster sat after round one. No one even accepted my offer in the second round of bidding. Also, after Free Agency I still have ~$30 million in cap room which gives me the flexibility I was talking about earlier.

My goal moving forward is to develop the young players I have and for my veterans to show that they still have great ball left to be played by them. Hopefully, the young guys will improve and will show who is worth investing in. Then for the veterans, I will more than likely be looking to shop one or two of them in order to receive picks or points in the process for teams looking to improve their rosters for the playoffs.

Finally, with the TC, it was my first time and turned out to be a little bit of a mess. I decided not to do recommended since I had a clear idea of what I wanted most players to improve upon, especially my young guys. It blew up in my face a little bit considering some players did not develop as well as I thought and additionally some lost more points than I thought through the TC process. Thankfully, I insured the right players considering Brookins initially lost his 5 future value. So all things considered, I feel like the Thunder are heading in a healthy direction where hopefully we can surprise a few teams with our roster this year and will show that we are no longer just a rudderless team.

Thanks everyone and I am opening the floor to questions.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: What projects to be the Thunders starting lineup on opening night, and what's the goal for number of wins?

[false9]

Will this season's success be determined more by asset acquisition than on court results?

Also, why angry banana?

[AngryBanana]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: What projects to be the Thunders starting lineup on opening night, and what's the goal for number of wins?

Still doing a little stinker tinker with this, but as of now I project it to be:
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Collin Sexton
SF: Lino Brookins
PF: Jamey Brown
C: Nikola Vucevic

[AngryBanana]

Will this season's success be determined more by asset acquisition than on court results?

Also, why angry banana?

I think more so on asset acquisition. I want to have a high draft pick for the next draft to keep building on my young guys. Also, I have previously stated I would like to keep my cap as low as possible with the chance of going after a FA in the next year or two. Additional I would like to win a few games this year though to at least show that we are not the same old thunder that everyone expects us to be. I know that will not help my future as much as a full tank but I think its important to show that I am a legitimate team.

Also, Angrybanana was a name of a local Ska band that I liked a lot back when I was in high school. When it came time to think of a name for my Xbox 360 gamertag, that worked so I used it. It has treated me well over the years and I've been using it ever since.

[Wombataholic]

Is part of the plan this season to take on some bad contracts in order to acquire more future assets?

[AngryBanana]

Is part of the plan this season to take on some bad contracts in order to acquire more future assets?

If I feel that it is something that can help the team, and the price is right. I am willing to do it.

[ballsohard]

How are you liking the league?

[AngryBanana]

How are you liking the league?

So far I like it. I always loved doing the GM mode in video games growing up and this is something very similar but gives me the opportunity to do it with other people which makes it so much more fun. These press conference's are great as well because it gives you an opportunity to create a persona for yourself and your players. I am happy that I got the Thunder because it allows me the opportunity to build from square one instead of inheriting a middle of the road team. I love that everyone has been very receptive to my questions and has been able to help me navigate through learning everything.I am very interested to see if I really "could" do a better job than my good ole friend Dell Demps... Only time will tell!

[WigNosy]

How long do you feel it will take for the Maravich/Brookins/Edmunds core to lead the Thunder to the playoffs?

[Soundwave]

If you had to pick one, what is the most important single attribute or skill of any lone player on your team?

[AngryBanana]

How long do you feel it will take for the Maravich/Brookins/Edmunds core to lead the Thunder to the playoffs?

This all depends on two things:

1. The develop adequately and become the players they are projected to be.

2. Another player is added to the mix and changes the core as it is comprised today.

This also will rely on me to help them with TC become better players and to also set up players around them like Jamey Brown, who is playing a lot like I expected him to with the minutes he has been receiving.

I really like Pete, but realized with my first TC how hard it is to develop players, his lack of growth in some areas concerns me a little bit and I will need to look into how to develop him moving forward. I also like all three of them present me with flexibility to move among different positions. They all can move to a secondary position and be just as good at that one as they can be at the first one, if not better.

So, if everything holds up, I am hoping that within 5 years if not sooner depending on the conference as well.


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[AngryBanana]

If you had to pick one, what is the most important single attribute or skill of any lone player on your team?

I think if I had to single out one player, I think is very impressive is the quickness that Pete Maravich possesses. While on most point guards you would expect them to have a 98 quickness, you do not expect them to also have the height, weight, and other skills that he possesses. Hopefully, and this is one of my crucial points to my rebuild, with time he can become a nightly terror for other guards to play against.

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; The Advocate: A lot of people have lauded your success so far since entering SLOE and fielding what looks to be a highly competitive Thunder squad. The likes of which most here in SLOE haven't seen in maybe ever. You've also been outspoken so far in what you're looking to do with the roster at hand. Do you think the players you signed and drafted see this as a stop gap or one that they could see playing at for more than a few seasons?

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; The Advocate: A lot of people have lauded your success so far since entering SLOE and fielding what looks to be a highly competitive Thunder squad. The likes of which most here in SLOE haven't seen in maybe ever. You've also been outspoken so far in what you're looking to do with the roster at hand. Do you think the players you signed and drafted see this as a stop gap or one that they could see playing at for more than a few seasons?