Presti looks forward to a `positive conversation' with Donovan
The final year of Billy Donovan's contract with the Thunder happened to coincide with a seasonsuspending pandemic.
“Obviously this is a unique situation for everybody,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Thursday. “We've always been really proud of the fact that Billy's been our coach. He's been our coach now for five years, and I think he's done an excellent job all five years. And our hope is that once we get some clarity on if this is the end of the season, or if we're playing more, or what have you, we'll sit down and have those conversations that we always have.”
In a video conference call with local media Thursday, Presti stopped short of guaranteeing, before contract negotiations could begin, that Donovan would be back next season.
But he made it clear that the Thunder has been pleased with Donovan's performance.
“I'm confident that at the right time we will be able to sit down and have a positive conversation with Billy about his future,” Presti said.
This season, Donovan inserted himself into the Coach of the Year conversation at the helm of an over- performing team. On his way to doing so, he met the expectations Presti laid out
before the season.
“There's an art and science to managing to optimize the entire season,” Presti said in September. “But we want to do everything we can to figure out what the best combinations are, and that's really Billy's job, and I don't think he can walk into the year and say, `this is what it's going to be' because there's been a lot of change.”
Thunder makes weekly video calls, regular communication priorities
The Thunder has embraced video calls as a way to stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic.
The players have a weekly Zoom call, and the Thunder has offered them Zoom workouts as
well, Presti said.
“Without an end point,” he said, “I think you really have to be really careful about how you approach the training and things of that nature.”
Part of the Thunder's regular communication consists of reminders that the team has wellness resources available for players if they want or need them.
But another part is simply combating physical isolation with technology.
“I've been absolutely just inspired by the way that our organization has come together and leaned on one another, been there for each other and checked on each other,” Presti said. “Because we're still in the midst of doing that.
“But we set a goal for
ourselves, who do we want to be when we emerge from this? And I think, number one, we want to be even closer. We also will, I think, not take for granted the value of the random conversation in the hallway or the ability to have a debate over something meaningless at a lunch table. So I think you're going to get some gratitude out of this, as well.”
The Thunder, like teams and people across the country, has embraced video calls as a way to stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic. OKC has offered its players Zoom workouts as well, Presti said.
But on Tuesday, Presti put more emphasis on the team's regular communication.