SB Nation - Adrian Griffin

2009 NBA Draft Coverage: In Sam Presti We Trust (Thunder GM)

Mr Pappagiorgio — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:00:21 -0000

As we inch closer and closer to the 2009 NBA Draft, I thought it would be fitting to make very clear of one thing, In Sam Presti We Trust. The moves he's made since joining the organization have been cold and calculated as he attempts to completely rebuild this team, for the long haul, and from the ground up. He hasn't been afraid to trade superstars (Ray Allen), walk away from pricey re-signings (Rashard Lewis), or even walk away from completed trades involving stud players because his future became a little cloudy after Thunder trainers evaluated him (Tyson Chandler). He did all that and more, much more, in just 2 years since being hired by the Sonics. Its a pretty long list that you'll see after you make the jump.

Sam Presti became the General Manager of the Seattle Sonics on June 7, 2007 and since then, not only has he made those tough decisions/big deals listed above, but he's also turned over nearly the entire roster. Just take a look at these names: Ray Allen, Andre Brown, Desmon Farmer, Danny Fortson, Mickael Gelabale, Andreas Glyniadakis, Rashard Lewis, Randy Livingston, Johan Petro, Luke Ridnour, Mo Sene, Chris Wilcox, and Mike Wilks. In addition to those guys, Earl Watson, Nick Collison, and Damien Wilkins were also on the roster when Sam Presti took over the club, however, before the end of the summer, or before the trade deadline next year, its not out of the realm of possibilities for one, two, or even all three of those guys to be moved. Of the three remaining Pre-Presti players, only Nick Collison figures to be around past next year, at least in our estimation.

We've all been exhausting ourselves discussing what the Thunder will do with their #3 pick in next weeks draft, and while all the possibilities are intriguing, one thing we can bank on is that Thunder General Manager Sam Presti will undoubtedly make the smartest move for Oklahoma City with respect towards building this team for the future. He and his staff are looking at all sorts of players, and discussing potential moves with all sorts of teams. By the time the Thunder officially make/trade their pick come draft day, you can trust that the staff will have done their homework, carefully plotted out their move, and figured out the best way to make the most of our draft choice. It could come by using the 3rd pick to select a guy like James Harden (Which we love), Hasheem Thabeet, or even a guy like Tyreke Evens (whom you'll likely be hearing from, fictitiously of course, this week in our continued "My Name Is Series"). Or perhaps it could come by trading that third pick away, possibly with expiring contracts (Earl Watson anyone....please?), or with draft picks, and could be used to add a veteran player from another team in addition to dropping down a few slots and drafting a player like Stephen Curry to help maximize the value of our 3rd overall pick.

Whatever the case, In Sam Presti We Trust, and In Sam Presti You Can Trust. If you don't believe us, just take a look at the entire history of moves he's made since joining the club. Its quite a long list, especially when you consider he only took the job just a little over two years ago, but one thing is for sure, he isn't afraid of wheeling and dealing. So take a few minutes, look over this list, form your opinion about any/all of the moves he's made, and let us know if you Trust in Presti as much as we do.

Also, it's recently been announced that the state of Oklahoma will be releasing a limited edition State specific Nickel for use in the state of Oklahoma only, as part of an advertising campaign to raise awareness about our professional basketball team. The tails side is of course the Thunder logo, but the heads side features our very own Sam Presti, with the words In Sam We Trust. You can see the head side of the Nickel below Presti's transaction history on this post. Of course this is all complete malarkey and isn't actually true, I just had to make something up so that my post header made more sense, or cents. I mean not everybody would have made the connection between In Sam We Trust and In God We Trust which is most commonly found on all forms of American Money. And no, in no way does this post, or post title have anything to do with God or Religion, its just my new catch phrase for anytime someone posts or makes comments in reference to our wunderkind general manager.

Sam Presti's Transaction History (2007-09) Seattle Sonics / Oklahoma City Thunder

(Transaction History From HoopsHype, although any links contained inside stay in the SBNation Network)

TRANSACTIONS:
SEASON 2008-09
March 31 2009 Signed guard Shaun Livingston. March 1 2009 Waived forward Joe Smith. February 20 2009 Waived center Saer Sene. February 19 2009 Traded forward Chris Wilcox to the New York Knicks for forward Malik Rose and cash. Traded a conditional 2009 first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for guard Thabo Sefolosha. February 17 2009 Traded forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to forward DeVon Hardin to the New Orleans Hornets for center Tyson Chandler. The trade was voided the following day. January 7 2009 Traded center Johan Petro and a second-round pick to the Denver Nuggets for guard Chucky Atkins. December 31 2008 Signed center Nenad Krstic. December 30 2008 Waived center Steven Hill. December 22 2008 Signed center Nenad Krstic to an offer sheet. November 22 2008 Fired head coach PJ Carlesimo and assistant coach Paul Westhead and named Scott Brooks interim head coach. November 4 2008 Signed center Steven Hill. November 3 2008 Waived guard John Lucas. October 21 2008 Waived forward Derrick Byars and center Chris Alexander. October 16 2008 Exercised the contract options on forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green through 2009-10. September 29 2008 Signed guard John Lucas, forward Derrick Byars and center Chris Alexander. September 11 2008 Re-signed center Robert Swift. August 27 2008 Signed guard Kyle Weaver. August 20 2008 Waived forward Donyell Marshall. August 13 2008 Traded guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Desmond Mason from the Milwaukee Bucks and forward Joe Smith from the Cleveland Cavaliers. August 11 2008 Traded a second-round pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for the draft rights to guard Kyle Weaver. July 18 2008 Signed guard CJ Miles to an offer sheet. July 4 2008 Signed guard Russell Westbrook and forward DJ White. June 28 2008 Tendered a qualifying offer to forward Robert Swift. Draft 2008 Selected guard Russell Westbrook (4th overall pick), forwards Serge Ibaka (24th overall pick) and Walter Sharpe (32nd overall pick) and centers Trent Plaisted (46th overall pick), Devon Hardin (50th overall pick) and Sasha Kaun (56th overall pick). Traded the draft rights to forward Walter Sharpe and center Trent Plaisted to the Detroit Pistons for the draft rights to forward DJ White; traded the draft rights to center Sasha Kaun to the Cleveland Cavaliers for cash. May 8 2008 Named Troy Weaver assistant general manager.
SEASON 2007-08
April 13 2008 Signed forward Ronald Dupree for the remainder of the season. April 3 2008 Signed forward Ronald Dupree to a 10-day contract. March 24 2008 Signed guard Eddie Gill to a 10-day contract. March 11 2008 Signed guard Mike Wilks to a second 10-day contract. February 29 2008 Signed guard Mike Wilks to a 10-day contract and waived forward Ira Newble. February 21 2008 Traded guards Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forwards Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble and forward Adrian Griffin from the Chicago Bulls; waived guard Brent Barry. February 20 2008 Traded forward Kurt Thomas to the San Antonio Spurs for guard Brent Barry, center Francisco Elson and a 2009 first-round pick. October 26 2007 Exercised the contract options of centers Johan Petro and Saer Sene through 2008-09. October 22 2007 Waived guard Jermaine Jackson. October 1 2007 Signed guard Jermaine Jackson. September 27 2007 Named Paul Westhead assistant coach. August 29 2007 Named Bill Branch director of pro player personnel and Gerald Madkins and Frank Ross scouts. August 23 2007 Named Scott Brooks, Mark Bryant and Ralph Lewis assistant coaches and Brian Keefe player development assistant. July 20 2007 Traded a future conditional second-round pick and cash to the Phoenix Suns for forward Kurt Thomas and the first-round picks of 2008 and 2010. July 11 2007 Signed forward Rashard Lewis and traded him to the Orlando Magic for a conditional second-round pick and cash. July 5 2007 Named PJ Carlesimo head coach. July 4 2007 Signed forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Draft 2007 Selected forwards Kevin Durant (2nd overall pick) and Carl Landry (31st overall pick overall pick), center Glen Davis (35th overall pick). June 28 2007 Traded guard Ray Allen and the 35th overall pick to the Boston Celtics for guards Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and the 5th overall pick.

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Croshere picked up on waivers, Griffin cut

Frank Madden — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:12:11 -0000

Thus far Adrian Griffin has mostly been known as one of Scott Skiles' favorite binkies from Chicago, and we've previously wondered aloud why the Bucks would pay the 34-year old the handsome sum of $1.71 million to sit on the bench when his deal was non-guaranteed. Well, score one for rationality: Griffin has been cut and veteran power forward Austin Croshere was claimed off waivers on the eve of the Bucks' season opener.

Croshere provides the Bucks a reasonably mobile big off the bench that can occasionally hit threes (34% career), and while at 33 he's not someone you want playing extended minutes, he could certainly find his way into the rotation given the Bucks' complete lack of depth up front. Either way he's of more use than Griffin and costs less than half as much, so it's difficult to complain. The move also provides further evidence that Skiles and company have been less than thrilled with their PF rotation this preseason, which has consisted mainly of Charlie Villanueva, Malik Allen, and rookie combo forwards Joe Alexander (who's better suited to SF) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (who's also seen time at SG).

I'm not sure Croshere does anything the freshly-waived Matt Freije can't do for less money, but we all know the NBA hates young players who weren't lottery picks. So guys like Freije, Nick Fazekas, and Elton Brown will continue to be ignored when they have the potential to actually be decent role players. Fortunately, the Bucks will only be on the hook for $798k of Croshere's $1.26 million deal; as a veteran signing for the minimum, Croshere gets anything above the two year veteran's minimum paid for by the league. As a result, the Bucks save about $903k and are probably (ever so) slightly better on the court as well.

In other opener-related news, Gery Woelfel writes that Villanueva is likely to start tomorrow night alongside Andrew Bogut, who tested his perpetually sprained ankle today in practice. Meanwhile, Ramon Sessions may start in place of Luke Ridnour, who missed today's practice with back tightness. Sessions has been wildly inconsistent this preseason, but the irony is that a significant proportion of Bucks Nation would secretly (or not so secretly) like to see him get a shot at starting at some point anyway. Well, that chance may come sooner than expected.

Tuesday Notes: Damon staying home, media day highlights, early power rankings

Frank Madden — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:30:27 -0000

Like most of us, Damon Jones couldn't figure out how he was going to get minutes with Luke Ridnour, Tyronn Lue, and Ramon Sessions ahead of him in the PG pecking order. So he's staying home for now--which is fine with the Bucks. Jones' expiring $4.46 million deal could be useful down the road, though he can't easily be included in a package deal until October 13. Which isn't a big issue at this point, since the Bucks aren't likely to be doing any dealing before the regular season anyway.

Jones' absence also cuts the Bucks' effective roster down to 14, meaning it's also more likely that the Bucks keep Adrian Griffin and his non-guaranteed $1.71 million deal. I've never completely understood the rationale of keeping Griffin at that price, but Skiles evidently liked him in Chicago. And I don't have to sign the paychecks, do I?
Tom Enlund writes that the new-look Bucks aren't looking to dwell on last season's shortcomings. Richard Jefferson says it best:
"If you come in trying to figure out where you went wrong last year, or if you come in here trying to figure out how not to be last year's team, then you fall into that. You come in here, like ‘Hey, we have a new coach, a new GM, and we have new players'.

"We have a top 10 draft pick, and quality guys like our rookie from UCLA who just went to the finals twice in his career, so he comes from a winning situation...that's rare to get someone like that as a second-round pick. So we've got good balance from top to bottom."
Truman Reed has been writing huge features left and right over at Bucks.com, and this week he brings us a great profile of John Hammond.
"We have to have people who understand that, 'I have to earn the right to be on this floor,'" Hammond said. "That's the mentality that Scott usually brings to a team, and that's the mentality that our players have to be willing to accept, that, 'I'm not going to be given anything. If I work for it, and I deserve it, I want what is rightfully mine, but I have to earn those minutes.'
Amen to that.
Jim Paschke has been keeping busy of late, and brings us the story of Milwaukeean and former ABAer Will Allen's "genius" grant. Great read.
Check out some media day pictures. Not nearly as many as last year unfortunately.
Marc Stein ranks the Bucks 16th overall and 8th in the East in his pre-camp power rankings. A national writer predicting playoffs for the Bucks? Surprising.
Enlund also spoke to Toni Kukoc, who isn't a big fan of NBA basketball right now..