Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Wednesday that coach Billy Donovan’s job is safe Milan Lucic Jersey Kids , despite a disappointing season.

Oklahoma City had high expectations this season after trading for Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to join reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. Even with the added star power, the Thunder won just one more regular-season game than last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs again.

Presti noted that Donovan has been forced to deal with constant change. The Thunder went to the Western Conference Finals in Donovan’s first season with a fully stacked roster. A few months later, superstar Kevin Durant left for Golden State in free agency, and the Thunder scrambled to make the playoffs in 2016-17. This season, shooting guard Andre Roberson suffered a season-ending ruptured left patellar tendon in January.

”If you think about the last three years for our organization, and the last three years for him, it’s been a little bit of a whipsaw in respect to just the team he inherited in 2016, the performance of that team being within a couple minutes of going to the Finals, then not being able to capitalize on that,” Presti said. ”Obviously on the heels of free agency in 2016, we’re trying to put together a team on the fly and do the best that we can. We were able to get that team to the postseason. In his third year, there’s a significantly different roster. Again, I think the best thing for him Womens Anze Kopitar Jersey , I think the biggest opportunity for him, is in the continuity.”

The continuity depends largely on if George, who has a player option on his deal, stays. George, a 6-foot-9 forward, was an All-Star who averaged 21.9 points and 5.7 rebounds this season and was among the league leaders in steals. Presti noted the positive things George has said about the franchise and believes both sides have been upfront.

”From the day that he arrived, we really made a specific and intentional effort to build a relationship with Paul and his representation built on three things: collaboration, transparency, and trust,” Presti said. ”Those tenets were followed throughout the year and continued to be. I felt strongly about the relationship. I feel great about the communication and the honesty, about the way we started the relationship.”

Dealing with Anthony will be a critical element of the offseason. The 10-time All-Star was inconsistent and ended the season unhappy. He averaged just 16.2 points this season, the lowest average of his career. He was an isolation specialist most of his career before shifting to more of a catch-and-shoot role this season. He made it clear on Saturday that he’s not interested in coming off the bench and he doesn’t like the role he had last season.

The Thunder will owe Anthony $28 million if he doesn’t exercise his early termination option. If he stays, it creates a dilemma for Donovan. Presti doesn’t expect Anthony’s role to change.

”He has to decide whether or not he wants to do another year of trying to make this transition as a stretch player Leon Draisaitl Jersey ,” Presti said. ”That’s the first thing. I think he’s being very candid and very honest. I respect that. I respect the fact he’s being open about that.”

Regardless, Donovan’s future with the Thunder is clearer than that of George and Anthony. He has a 150-96 career regular-season record (.610) with the franchise.

”I think he comes in guns blazing every day looking for ways to get better, looking for ways to continue to build relationships with his players,” Presti said. ”I think he’s done an excellent job of that, as well, based on just the fact that this season, with some of the adversities we faced relative to expectations, relative to some injury, the newness of the team, the chemistry of the team, the strength of the team. I think he has a big hand in that, as well.”

Lorenzo Cain and Travis Shaw helped Milwaukee’s offense break through against the Chicago Cubs, and Chase Anderson did the rest.

Anderson pitched seven innings of one-hit ball to capitalize on a heads-up rundown escape by Cain and a pair of two-run doubles by Shaw Sven Baertschi Jersey , and the Brewers two-hit the Cubs 4-0 on Tuesday night to take back first place in the NL Central.

Shaw had already put Chicago up 2-0 when Cain used his head and legs to escape a sticky spot in the third inning. With Christian Yelich at second, Cain hit a ball up the middle that was fielded by second baseman Javier Baez. Yelich got hung up between second and third but stayed alive through three throws before sprinting back to second base.

Cain, meanwhile, rounded first hard and fooled the Cubs into thinking he was committing to second. If both Yelich and Cain had touched second base, Cain could have been tagged out, and so pitcher Tyler Chatwood chased Yelich back to second, thinking Cain was about to end up there.

But Cain stopped a few feet short of second and ran back to first, where no Chicago players were around to field a throw from Chatwood. Yelich returned safely to second, and both players scored moments later on Shaw’s double to right.

Cain said he practiced the play when he was with the Kansas City Royals.

”I actually want to credit that play to Rusty Kuntz,” Cain said of the former first-base coach for the Royals. ”It never actually happened, but for it to happen tonight was huge. It was a nice play.”

Cain said Yelich had to keep hustling or the play would not have worked. Cain said he peeked back and saw that Anthony Rizzo was not covering first base.

”That baserunning play by Cain was flat-out brilliant,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. ”I’ve never seen anything like that. I had no idea what he was planning on doing but it was amazing. That’s seeing the field and understanding what’s happening.”

The Brewers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Shaw’s shot that evaded diving first baseman Rizzo and rolled into the right-field corner. Milwaukee ended a seven-game skid to Chicago.

Anderson (5-5) threw a Brewers’ season-high 107 pitches. Chicago’s only hit against him was an infield chopper by Willson Contreras in the second. Anderson retired his final 17 hitters.

”We just could not mount an attack,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”Anderson has been difficult against us in the past and he was again tonight. There was not a whole lot going on. Two doubles beat us.”

Anderson had lost his three previous decisions against the Cubs as the Brewers had been shut out in each game. Taylor Williams and Jacob Barnes finished up for Milwaukee with an inning each.

”My command was kind of spotty Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey ,” Anderson said. ”I had a good fastball early. As I kept going the curveball came into play and the cutter a little bit. The changeup was good. I was able to throw all my pitches for strikes.”

Cubs right-hander Tyler Chatwood (3-5), who entered the game leading the major leagues in walks, showed better control while allowing four runs (three earned) and walking two batters in five innings.

”My last outing wasn’t pretty, but I felt like I worked on some stuff and took it into this outing,” Chatwood said.

TRAINERS ROOM

Cubs: RHP Yu Darvish threw 30 pitches in a bullpen session Tuesday, and Maddon was encouraged by what he saw. ”Outstanding. He threw really well,” Maddon said. ”Easy gas. Great location. Good spin on his breaking ball. Very impressed.” Darvish was put on the disabled list May 23 with right triceps tendinitis. Maddon said if there’s a chance for Darvish to return before the All-Star break, ”I’m into it. Whatever the doctors think.”

Brewers: RHP Matt Albers was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder injury and RHP Jorge Lopez was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Albers allowed five runs and three hits in the 11th inning Monday night and took the loss in Milwaukee’s 7-2 defeat. ”He got to the point it was affecting him out there on the field and it’s just time to take a break,” Counsell said.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery (2-1, 3.56 ERA) will make his fourth start since replacing Darvish in the rotation. Montgomery is 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA in his three starts, including a victory over Pittsburgh last week.

Brewers: RHP Jhoulys Chacin has emerged as the team’s ace this season (5-1, 3.58 ERA). The Brewers are 11-3 In his starts and opponents are batting .231 against him.

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