Thunder GM admits fault trading for veteran who underperformed: 'That's on me'

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Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti is in the same boat as Gordon Hayward – the trade for the NBA veteran did not go as planned. 

Presti spoke at an end-of-season news conference on Tuesday following his team’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, where he took the blame for the trade he made for Hayward. 

The trade was supposed to boost the roster, but Hayward wasn’t the right fit in the end. 

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Gordon Hayward of the Oklahoma City Thunder before the playoff game against the Mavericks on May 18, 2024, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images)

"I missed on that," Presti said bluntly, via ESPN. "That’s on me. But I’m learning, I’m trying to learn this team, I’m trying to learn the pace of the team a little bit. And trying to be a great observer of the team as it’s going through its paces, knowing that it’s really going to change on its own in and of itself."

Presti is better than most general managers throughout sports, who would rather die on the hill when the trade was made, but the player just didn’t perform to his usual abilities. 

Presti sparked a trade with the Charlotte Hornets for Hayward, the one-time All-Star who was in his 13th NBA season. He sent Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, David Bertans and future draft picks in February to land the man averaging 14.5 points on 46.8% shooting from the field over 25 games with Charlotte. 

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However, when Hayward got to the Thunder, the fit just wasn’t right. He played in 26 games,