Thunder GM Sam Presti Addresses Lu Dort's Future With OKC
As defending champions with a 64-18 record, the Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t supposed to be sitting at home, watching the NBA Finals right now. Not with back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his prime.
But the San Antonio Spurs ended Oklahoma City’s season 111-103 in a Game 7 thriller in the Western Conference Finals, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals and sending the Thunder packing.
OKC steamrolled their first two rounds, sweeping both the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers, looking every bit like a dynasty in the making.
Then Victor Wembanyama rolled into town, and the rest is history.
And now Sam Presti has a very expensive, very complicated offseason staring him in the face.
At the center of it all is Lu Dort.
On Monday, Presti addressed the media and said he needs to sit down with Dort, hear his perspective, and figure out where things stand, adding that “all of us would love to bring everybody back.”
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Oklahoma City will face several difficult financial decisions this offseason as Sam Presti attempts to avoid the dreaded second apron.
Isaiah Hartenstein ($28.5 million) and Lu Dort ($17.2 million) both have team options that could be declined. That’s nearly $46 million in decisions that have to be made in the coming weeks. And Dort’s team option represents one of the cleanest ways for OKC to shed salary.
Dort averaged just 5.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 30.8% shooting from three in this year’s playoffs, including just one game where he scored in double digits.
And when the Thunder needed him the most, during their seven-game WCF series against San Antonio, he didn’t deliver it, finishing with just three points, two assists, and one rebound in 16 minutes in the final elimination game.
That makes a $17-18 million team option look a lot harder to justify.
OKC also has plenty of other perimeter defensive talent, including Cason Wallace, who just earned All-Defensive honors, along with Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain, who all provide similar defensive value on much friendlier deals.
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During the team’s exit interview, Dort expressed that he doesn’t want to play for any other team, saying, “Obviously, I want to stay here. This organization and this city really shaped me as a person and as a player.”
And he’s not alone in wanting to keep this thing together. According to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, SGA will be campaigning for Dort to stay with OKC as well.
But the NBA is a business, and Presti will have to do what he believes is best for the organization long term.
He’ll have to decide whether to pick up Dort’s team option, decline it, and re-sign him to a longer-term deal at a lower number, or see him play in a different uniform come October.
Based on Presti’s comments, a restructured deal at a lower annual figure feels like the most likely solution, giving both sides what they want.
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 10:31 AM.