What is Josh Giddey's future with OKC Thunder? GM Sam Presti remains patient

For the first time in what feels like the past few of Sam Presti’s annual ask-all sessions, the Thunder general manager had something firm to speak on.

Fifty-seven wins, the youngest team to do the things older teams hope to, the confirmation of budding stars and a franchise star alike. A clear step, which might’ve even shed light on what was necessary next.

Instead, Presti floated into the abyss that the Thunder’s postseason run was an appearance, not the arrival he once prophesied. That OKC was still such a work in progress, that so many unknown factors remained. That includes what Josh Giddey’s role looks like moving forward.

Two things did become clear, though, at least based on what Presti spoke: He knows Giddey remains part of the Thunder’s ongoing vision, but he doesn’t know what that might look like as soon as next season.

“He's 21, so 21-year-olds generally have up-and-down years,” Presti said of the third-year guard. “... But at 21 years old, he's stubborn. When I say stubborn, I mean that in an endearing way. He's confident. In the way that I think a lot of people would like to see him capitulate and give in, he's not doing that.”

More: What OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti said about Josh Giddey, NBA Draft, 2023-24 season

Presti, asked about Giddey’s season, framed it relative to his three seasons in the league. Enduring a season with 58 losses, seeing change and turnover and growth from teammates. Seeing “resistance” as the team has improved.

This season happened to be the boiling point. When the Thunder’s offense became so transcendent with a formula Giddey hadn’t known well that it nearly forced him out altogether. That wasn’t without OKC trying, though. It tried to use him in a myriad of ways — some briefly effective, others that wore out as soon as they began.

In the end, Giddey’s final two games came without him in the starting lineup — the first time in his career he didn’t start. It left spectators to question whether Giddey, in the off-ball role he’d been forced into, still had a place with the rising Thunder.

“We're assuming with that question that the team will be frozen in time and this will be the only version of the team, when the reality is the team is going to change significantly,” Presti said.

“I couldn't predict what the fit will be. I will tell you that he won't have to fit on this team because that team is over. This team will look different next year and the year after that and the year after that.”

By the sound of it, solutions will continue to be sought for Giddey to remain with the Thunder. Perhaps as a bench facilitator, perhaps with hope he returns as an improved shooter, perhaps in an unconventional role yet to be thought of.

More: Top five OKC Thunder seasons: Where does 2023-24 team rank?

But even after the toughest season of his young career, one in which he was challenged in ways he likely never saw coming, Presti implied that this ongoing process for Giddey is simply evolution.

He made mention of a mixing board reference in relation to team building, that every player couldn’t turn their volume up to 11 and possibly create harmony. As he called Lu Dort the organization’s best example of player development in recent memory, he noted that the defensive stalwart adjusted his volume, which probably allowed Jalen Williams more room to come into his own.

“I think Giddey is going to be on that path just like these other guys were,” Presti said. “He happens to be much younger than those guys, but I think he's going to be a good player for those reasons. But it's not a snap thing.”

Presti is a 46-year-old with the patience to conquer DMV lines and sit through a game of monopoly. He cursed terms like “window” and “timeline,” both of which Giddey’s fit this season could complicate for a budding team — neither of which seem to be rushing Presti.

Presti figures he’ll sit with Giddey when the time is appropriate, but that he doesn’t necessarily sense urgency to have the conversation now with another year on his deal. After Tuesday, it seems that a conversation about Giddey’s fit on next year’s team is the one intended — and perhaps the only — for the near future.

“The beauty to me about where we are as a team is that type of evolution should continue, and the players play off of each other that way,” Presti said. “Players will look different as their teammates develop into different styles of player. We figure out how to best leverage their strengths.

“I don't know that there's a way to accelerate that. I think you have to be patient with it.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti remains patient with Josh Giddey's future