Sam Presti, the general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, explained at a press conference why he drafted Nikola Topic.
One player helped him a lot and that is by his own admission. The player in question is Vasilije Micic, who played for the Oklahoma City Thunder at the beginning of last year.
“I spent a lot of time talking with Micic about this player. Honestly. He helped me a lot, really. Vasilije Micic had a similar injury early in his career. I think everyone knows what we think about Micic. He has a great basketball mind, and being able to talk with him, not just about the player but also about what a player goes through at that age, was important for empathy.
What I find very interesting and important about Nikola is that he is extremely mature for his age. He is an exceptionally mature person. If you talk to his teammates or observe him as part of a team, he is a great teammate. I think he has a great understanding of team dynamics for his age, he understands himself well, and he is curious.
As a person, he is very interesting in terms of how he views the team, competition, and learning. I think that is very rare. It’s intriguing to have someone like that on the team. And then, when you have someone who knows him well like Micic, that is also very helpful,” concluded Presti.