Schlecht "We're not gonna be losing for much longer" - SGA, Sept. 2022
Schlecht: "So there's a lot of conversation about player movement on Twitter and podcasts and things like that. One of that surfaced is the idea that maybe you would want out of OKC because of the losing in the last two years. What are your thoughts on the speculation?
--
Shai: "Obviously we have lost more than we'd like to the past couple years - and it's not fun though. With that being said though, I know what I signed up for and I signed a 5 year extension. And I don't think we're gonna be losing for much longer. It's not like I signed up to lose or anything. I believe in this team, believe in the players we have on this team and I think we're headed in the right direction and will be where we want to be soon."
--
This was one of my favorite interviews that Andrew Schlecht has done and it is really incredible to see how confident Shai was before OKC was on the upswing. This was before the 40-win playin berth of last season, and certainly before the meteoric rise this season.
--
Over the last 15 games OKC’s big 3 has been lighting up the league on insane efficiency.
SGA last 15 games:
32/6/6 on 58% FG
Chet last 15 games:
19/6/3 on 61% FG
Jalen Williams last 15 games:
19/5/4 on 61% FG and 60% 3PT
That means over the last 15 games they have:
Shai: 67.38 TS%
Chet: 68.16 TS%
Jalen: 68.65 TS%
OKC is 12-3 in this span with a net rating of +12.4
Other notable players:
Giddey- 12/6/5 on 54% FG
Isiah Joe- 8 points on 50/40 splits
Wiggins- 4 points on 50/50 splits
Dort- 12/3/2 on 50/45 splits
End of an era..
He was gone when he poured that water on shai
Farewell Tre big mistake
He's got talent but he barely saw the floor because of how deep the team is so this is best for everyone
Paul George leaves the Clippers, making the Clippers picks VERY valuable: Clippers picks remaining being 2025 & 2027 unprotected pick swaps(2027 from facilitating the harden deal), and a 2026 unprotected first round pick
Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins were signed for the long term for very reasonable deals.
Isaiah Hartenstein signs with OKC, and fills out any weaknesses the Thunder had on the rebounding end, and solidifies the core.
In addition to that, Presti still has 39 PICKS from now until 2030, that’s AFTER trading 5 second round picks to get Dillon Jones in the late first round of this years draft.