OKC Thunder announce seven front office promotions

The OKC Thunder announced internal promotions and recent hires that bolster the front office of the franchise.

Executive vice president and general manager of the OKC Thunder Sam Presti is busy wrapped up in the day to day business of the offseason. Part of those responsibilities includes shoring up the executive staff of the front office.

The Thunder are one of the teams in the association who are often cited as a strong template for how other franchises aim to emulate. This year many of the current members of the executive committee and coaching staff have been coveted to fill positions elsewhere.

To wit, Troy Weaver departed for the Detroit Pistons where he assumed the position of vice president of basketball operations. Billy Donovan exited to become the new head coach of the Chicago Bulls.

OKC Thunder promote seven executive staff

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Today the team officially announced the promotion of seven people within their organizations at the front office level.

• Will Dawkins:  Vice President of Basketball Operations
• Rob Hennigan: Vice President of Basketball Operations
• Jesse Gould: Vice President of Strategy and Analysis
• Wynn Sullivan: Vice President of Strategy and Design
• Brandon Barnett: Director of Pro Player Personnel
• Nazr Mohammed:  General Manager of OKC Blue/Pro Personnel Evaluator
• Paul Johnson: OKC Blue Assistant General Manager

Earlier this year Nazr Mohammed interviewed with the Bulls for the open General Manager position. Mohammed spent part of his 18-year career playing on the Thunder squad and as an example with his interview in Chicago is someone who franchises recognizing as a rising star.

To that end, Nazr is being groomed and fast-tracked by the Thunder having spent time in the transition program geared to former players to expose them to various roles within the organization and provide them with an overall understanding of basketball operations.

Taking over for Weaver are two individuals Rob Hennigan and Will Dawkins. The former is back with the Thunder after spending five seasons with the Orlando Magic as their general manager. Following his release, he returned to the Thunder easing back into a role under Presti who he has a strong working relationship with.

Some of the titles the executive committee holds sound very impressive. For example, Dawkins’ previous position was V.P. of Identification and Intelligence. Presumably, this involved finding appropriate fits for the roster (scouting?) although the title could fit a number of job responsibilities.

The full press release can be viewed on the OKC Thunder official website.