Sam Presti wrote an open letter published in The Oklahoman addressing the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder after trading Russell Westbrook.

Presti wrote of the team transitioning into a new phase while emphasizing their commitment to the city.

"This summer, the story of the Oklahoma City Thunder is transitioning to a new phase. Over the last few weeks, we have parted ways with foundational players — people who have represented our city to the world, who have sacrificed for us and flourished on our behalf. Although this has been painful, I also believe that — given the circumstances — it was necessary. In saying goodbye to the past, we have begun to chart our future. The next great Thunder team is out there somewhere, but it will take time to seize and discipline to ultimately sustain," wrote Presti.

Presti also addressed the difficulty of building a team in a small market. 

"Despite our city’s rapid rise and growth, Oklahoma City remains the second-smallest market in the NBA. While this brings many benefits, it also poses strategic challenges. Given the way the league’s system is designed, small market teams operate with significant disadvantages. There is no reason to pretend otherwise. This in no way means we cannot be extraordinarily successful — we, and several other small to mid-market teams, are our own best examples of the ability to overcome these realities," added Presti. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder waived guard Donte Grantham.

Grantham played in three games last season for the Thunder.

Sam Presti refuted the suggestion made by Paul George that this offseason's trade was "mutual."

"I think the world of PG. I think everybody knows that," Presti said. "I know that he had used the term 'mutual.' I wouldn't necessarily agree with that because that would infer that we were wanting to trade Paul George, which I think most people would agree that that probably wasn't on the top of our offseason priority list.

"But I would say that it was not adversarial at all, and I also fully respect the way that it was handled. And the fact that we were able to make it work in a way that benefited the franchise made it something that we could do."

George requested a trade from the Thunder after the start of free agency and he was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers.

"The players have the freedom to be able to talk and recruit, and there's nothing limiting that, and that obviously changed the game for us," Presti said. "But I feel really good about the fact that we were able to make it work for everybody and figure out a solution, because based on just looking down the runway, we were probably going to be faced with that scenario probably after the following season. He would have had one year left on his contract at that point in time, and although we may have had more time to plan, I don't think we were going to be in a position to be able to recoup the value that we were able to in that particular situation."

The Oklahoma City Thunder made several changes to their coaching staff, announced Royce Young of ESPN.

David Akinyooye and Mark Daigneault were promoted from their G League side. Dave Bliss was promoted from a player development position, while Mike Wilks was promoted from his scouting role. 

Brian Keefe, who spent the last three seasons with the Lakers, rejoins Billy Donovan's staff.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were willing to discuss the possibility of trading Russell Westbrook prior to the draft, according to at least one rival team.

Westbrook and Paul George approached the Thunder about their discontent with the current situation before the draft.

The Thunder managed to trade George following an aggressive approach from the Los Angeles Clippers. Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets shortly thereafter.

It is "not accurate" that Kawhi Leonard recruited Paul George to demand a trade to join the Los Angeles Clippers, a source tells Shams Charania of The Athletic.

George had interest in playing in Los Angeles in 2017, but was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder and then re-signed with the franchise in 2018.

George sensed joining Leonard with the Clippers was a special opportunity.

George was on board with the move after speaking with Leonard.

Russell Westbrook and Paul George both communicated their discontent to the Oklahoma City Thunder around the time of the draft, sources told Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Both Westbrook and George expressed interest in the Thunder making significant changes following another first round exit.

The Thunder worked on quelling the concerns of Westbrook and George by the start of free agency and planned on moving forward with their offseason acquisitions building around them.

The Los Angeles Clippers received word on July 3rd that George wanted out of Oklahoma City.

The Los Angeles Clippers made an unprecedented price to acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder, which also assured they would sign Kawhi Leonard.

"One of the two or three most lopsided deals ever, and also one the Clippers were right to do anyway," said one rival executive. 

The Clippers sent five first round picks, two pick swaps, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari to the Thunder for George.

George and Leonard are only committed to the Clippers for two seasons.

Damian Lillard spoke about his Game 5 buzzer-beater walk-off for the Portland Trail Blazers to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

"What can I say? That was for Seattle," Lillard said on Sports Business Radio.

The Thunder relocated from Seattle before the 08-09 season, which has remained a controversial subject within the NBA.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Chris Paul are not expected to find a successful trade before the start of the season.

Paul and the Thunder have been working together on finding a trade, but nothing is materializing this deep into free agency.

Both sides believe there are benefits to Paul playing out the season with the Thunder.

The Thunder will have more optionality trading Paul after December 15th when free agents who signed contracts in the 2019 offseason can be traded.