The One That Got Away
Every general manager has that one player that they wish they could have kept ahold of.
For Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti, that player has to be Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis’ brief stay with the Thunder began when his draft rights were traded to the Thunder along with Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova for Serge Ibaka, after being selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic. A year and two weeks later, Presti dealt Sabonis and Oladipo to the Indiana Pacers for what amounted to be a two year rental on Paul “I’m here to stay” George.
Though Sabonis and Oladipo never outwardly voiced any displeasure with the Thunder for the move, Sabonis has let his play do the talking.
This season, he’s running over his career averages, currently posting a 18.4 ppg, 13 rebound average, and 3.8 assists, up seven plus points, up nearly six rebounds, and double his assists.
Against the Thunder, he’s played very consistently well, though he was used sparingly at first, due to his lack of experience under head coach Nate McMillan. But in 2019 – adjoining this season and last season – you’d have to be blind not to see Sabonis’ improvement and his value as an asset.
| October 25, 2017 First game facing OKC after being traded | 4 points 11 rebounds 2 assists |
| December 13, 2017 | 8 points 6 rebounds 1 assist |
| March 14, 2019 | 26 points 7 rebounds 4 assists |
| March 27, 2019 | 18 points 10 rebounds 2 assists |
| November 12, 2019 | 18 points 16 rebounds 2 assists |
| December 4, 2019 | 17 points 13 rebounds 2 assists |
You’d have to think that Presti would want those stats, that grit and determination, and improvement like that back in Thunder blue.
Of course, he’d like to have had James Harden’s production and numbers too, but didn’t think Harden was worth the money he was asking. (Harden is the fourth highest paid player in the league at $38,199,000 this season and set to crest $41 million next season).
Sabonis is 248th in the league in salary at $3,529,554, but set to make $18.5 million a year over the next three seasons. If Indiana is foolish enough to underappreciate him or let him hit the trade market, Presti has to consider bringing him back to OKC.
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Milwaukee Bucks 127
Detroit Pistons 103
The Detroit Pistons got a taste of their own medicine, getting throttled by 24 points in their own crib by the NBA best Milwaukee Bucks. Detroit only scored 24 in each of the first three quarters, while Milwaukee put together 92 points in that time frame to take a very comfortable 20 point lead into the fourth. Milwaukee has won 13 games in a row.
| BUCKS (19-3) | PISTONS (8-14) |
| Giannis Antetokuonmpo 35 points – nine rebounds – two blocks | Andre Drummond 23 points – 14 rebounds – five assists – two steals – three blocks |
| Khris Middleton 17 points – eight rebounds – five assists – one steal | Langston Galloway 20 points – one rebound – one assist |
| Eric Bledsoe 13 points – six rebounds – six assists – one block | Blake Griffin 16 points – 10 rebounds – three assists |
NEXT UP
Clippers at Bucks – Friday
Pacers at Pistons – Friday
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Phoenix Suns 114
Orlando Magic 128
Despite losing Nikola Vucevic until about Christmas, the Orlando Magic are on a mission, winning their fourth of their last five games. The Magic shot 57 percent to Phoenix’s 48 percent to get within a game of .500 last night. Both teams are eighth in their respective conferences.
| SUNS (9-11) | MAGIC (10-11) |
| Frank Kaminsky 23 points – five rebounds – three assists – one steal | Aaron Gordon 32 points – five rebounds – five assists – one steal |
| Devin Booker 17 points – three rebounds – five assists | Terrence Ross 22 points – three rebounds – one assist – two steals |
| Cheick Diallo 16 points – four rebounds – two steals | Evan Fournier 21 points – two rebounds – four assists – one steal |
NEXT UP
Suns at Pelicans – Thursday
Magic at Cavaliers – Friday
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Golden State Warriors 91
Charlotte Hornets 106
D’Angelo Russell returned and the Golden State Warriors jumped out to an early lead and a respectable fight, but a 37 point second half left the crack in the door the Charlotte Hornets needed to swarm the Warriors, sending them to their 19th loss of the season.
| WARRIORS (4-19) | HORNETS (9-14) |
| D’Angelo Russell 18 points – two rebounds – two assists | Devonte’ Graham 33 points – seven rebounds – nine assists – two steals |
| Eric Paschall 16 points – six rebounds – one assist | Terry Rozier 25 points – seven rebounds – seven assists – three steals |
| Alec Burks 15 points – four rebounds – two assists – two steals | Miles Bridges 10 points – two rebounds – one assist – two blocks |
NEXT UP
Warriors at Bulls – Friday
Nets at Hornets – Friday
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Brooklyn Nets 130
Atlanta Hawks 118
Atlanta treated the home fans at State Farm Arena to a nice first quarter, but let a 13 point surge by the Brooklyn Nets in the second quarter take the wind out from under their wings as they plummeted to their 17th loss this season and there wasn’t a damn thing State Farm could do about it as all five starters for the Nets hit in double digits.
| NETS (11-10) | HAWKS (5-17) |
| Garrett Temple 27 points – four rebounds – three assists | Trae Young 39 points – three rebounds – 10 assists – one block |
| Spencer Dinwiddie 24 points – six rebounds – five assists – two steals | Cam Reddish 25 points – six rebounds – three steals – one block |
| Taurean Prince 23 points – six rebounds – four assists – two steals | Damian Jones 20 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one block |
NEXT UP
Nets at Hornets – Friday
Hawks at Hornets – Sunday
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Miami Heat 93
Boston Celtics 112
The Boston Celtics improved to 8-0 at TD Garden last night as Jaylen Brown scored a season high to push the Celtics a few notches above the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standings, despite a strong night from Jimmy Butler. The C’s are now second right behind the Milwaukee Bucks as Miami falls to fifth in the East.
| HEAT (15-6) | CELTICS (15-5) |
| Jimmy Butler 37 points – six rebounds – four assists – two steals | Jaylen Brown 31 points – four rebounds – one assist – one steal |
| Kelly Olynyk 12 points – four rebounds – two assists – one steal | Kemba Walker 28 points – four rebounds – seven assists – two steals – one block |
| Justise Winslow 10 points – seven rebounds – four assists | Jayson Tatum 19 points – five rebounds – three assists – one steal – three blocks |
NEXT UP
Heat at Wizards – Friday
Nuggets at Celtics – Friday
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Memphis Grizzlies 99
Chicago Bulls 106
A strong second quarter by the Chicago Bulls and all of Chicago’s starters hitting in double digits helped the Bulls vanquish the visiting Memphis Grizzlies last night in the Windy City.
| GRIZZLIES (6-15) | BULLS (8-14) |
| Jonas Valanciunas 32 points – 13 rebounds – one assist – three steals – one block | Zach LaVine 25 points – six rebounds – three assists – one steal – one block |
| Jaren Jackson, Jr. 15 points – seven rebounds – one assist – one steal – two blocks | Wendell Carter, Jr. 16 points – 13 rebounds – four blocks |
| Jae Crowder 15 points – six rebounds – four assists – one steal | Lauri Markkanen 15 points – five rebounds – one assist – two blocks |
NEXT UP
Warriors at Bulls – Friday
Grizzlies at Jazz – Saturday
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Indiana Pacers 107
Oklahoma City Thunder 100
With the game on the line, Terrance Ferguson needs a little more practice at shooting in crunch time … or at least head coach Billy Donovan could have called a time out. Instead, the Indiana Pacers used a strong(er) 58-50 second half to down the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena last night. Seven Pacers ended up in double figures.
| PACERS (14-7) | THUNDER (8-12) |
| T.J. Warren 24 points – four rebounds – one assist | Steven Adams 20 points – nine rebounds – three assists – two blocks |
| Domantas Sabonis 17 points – 13 rebounds – two assists – two steals | Danilo Gallinari 18 points – seven rebounds – two assists |
| Doug McDermott 14 points – two rebounds – 0 assists | Dennis Schroder 18 points – four rebounds – one assist – one block |
NEXT UP
Pacers at Pistons – Friday
Timberwolves at Thunder – Friday
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Minnesota Timberwolves 114
Dallas Mavericks 121
The Dallas Mavericks continue to assert themselves as one of the teams in the NBA to be reckoned with, behind strong play from Luka Doncic and Dwight Powell, as well as 41-30 closeout quarter last night against the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves.
| TIMBERWOLVES (10-10) | MAVERICKS (15-6) |
| Karl-Anthony Towns 26 points – nine rebounds – seven assists – one steal – one block | Dwight Powell 24 points – five rebounds – four assists – one steal – two blocks |
| Andrew Wiggins 26 points – five rebounds – one assist – three blocks | Luka Doncic 22 points – seven rebounds – six assists |
| Robert Covington 22 points – six rebounds – one assist – one steal | Kristaps Porzingis 19 points – six rebounds – one block |
NEXT UP
Timberwolves at Thunder – Friday
Pelicans at Mavericks – Saturday
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Los Angeles Lakers 121
Utah Jazz 96
If Utah is the Jazz, then the Los Angeles Lakers is speed thrash metal. Duke Ellington, meet Cannibal Corpse. L.A. cranked out a 65-47 first half to drown out the Jazz and never looked back in their start to finish 25 point beatdown last night in Salt Lake City.
| LAKERS (19-3) | JAZZ (12-10) |
| Anthony Davis 26 points – six rebounds – one assist – one steal – three blocks | Donovan Mitchell 29 points – four rebounds – five assists |
| LeBron James 20 points – four rebounds – 12 assists – one steal | Bojan Bogdanovic 23 points – three rebounds – three assists – one steal |
| Rajon Rondo 14 points – nine rebounds – 12 assists – two steals | Rudy Gobert 13 points – 1o rebounds – two assists – one steal |
NEXT UP
Lakers at Blazers – Friday
Grizzlies at Jazz – Saturday
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Sacramento Kings 116
Portland Trailblazers 127
Their record at 9-13 may look uglier than Sacramento’s tidy 8-12, but the Portland Trailblazers’ percentage looks cleaner at .409 to Sacramento’s .364 after last night’s Blazer win in Portland, and it vaults the Blazers up to ninth place in the Western Conference standings. They’re headed in the right direction. Carmelo Anthony shot 50 percent for 20 points – and he was the fourth leading scorer on the team.
| KINGS (8-12) | BLAZERS (9-13) |
| Richaun Holmes 28 points – 10 rebounds – one steal | C.J. McCollum 33 points – four rebounds – four assists – one steal – four blocks |
| Buddy Hield 23 points – seven rebounds – seven assists – one steal | Damian Lillard 24 points – four rebounds – 10 assists – two steals – one block |
| Nemanja Bjelica 17 points – seven rebounds – four assists – one steal – two blocks | Hassan Whiteside 22 points – 16 rebounds – seven assists – three blocks |
NEXT UP
Kings at Spurs – Friday
Lakers at Blazers – Friday
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THURSDAY’S LINEUP / MY PICK ‘EMS
Philadelphia 76ers at Washington Wizards – 7 p.m. EST – NBC Sports Washington
Denver Nuggets at New York Knicks – 7:30 p.m. EST – Altitude 2
Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors – 7:30 p.m. EST – NBATV
Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans – 8 p.m. EST – Fox Sports Arizona
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The Rundown w/T-Money is a daily column “all things NBA” that will run through the entirety of the season, and the playoffs through the NBA Finals
Tracy Graven is a Senior Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA for the last two decades and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in Orlando, Boise (G League), San Antonio, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City.
He currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife and five children.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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