Outside of a select few exceptions, the vast majority of the core that guided the OKC Thunder to their first championship this past season was assembled by way of the NBA Draft.
From Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins, the number of hits Sam Presti has had over the years is truly astonishing and deserves to be celebrated by both fans and pundits alike.
Of course, this is not to say that all of Oklahoma City's draft-day swings have ended up panning out.
Whether it was the painful failure of the Aleksej Pokusevski experiment or last summer's fallout with 2021 lottery pick Josh Giddey, though perhaps not all that common, Presti has certainly seen a few misses throughout his tenure as well.
In fact, this summer the Thunder once again admitted defeat on their decision to select forward Dillon Jones in the first round of last year's festivities, sending him to the Washington Wizards back in late June in what ultimately served as a salary-dump deal.
Now, with just over a month to go until training camps open and two months before regular season tip-off, there's an argument to be made that this repeat-hopeful Oklahoma City squad may want to keep the ball rolling with this purge of currently rostered draft busts.
Should this prove to be a desire of the front office, there should be no question that Ousmane Dieng must be next up on the chopping block.
Thunder must trade Ousmane Dieng at the first chance they get
Despite being widely regarded as a mid-to-late first round prospect, the Thunder opted to select Dieng 11 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Since joining the team, although he has shown flashes of his positional versatility and innate defensive skills as a 6-foot-9 forward, the Frenchman has struggled to fully integrate his skills and carve out a regular spot within coach Mark Daigneault's rotation.
After three years, Dieng has seen his minutes and overall usage gradually decrease, with the rest of his numbers and overall production plummeting along the way.
Still only 22 years old and having shown signs of being a solid two-way contributor when given extended run (particularly while down in the G League with the OKC Blue), there may still be hope for the forward to prove he is an NBA-caliber player.
Unfortunately for Dieng, considering their dynasty-chasing mentality and already stacked talent pool, the Thunder have neither the time to properly develop him nor the need to play him, so any chance of the youngster establishing himself in this league will have to come while playing elsewhere.
At this point, the former lottery pick is seen more as an individual who prevents the Thunder from adding on coveted free agents and higher-upside, outsourced talents than anything else.
Be it in an attempt to bring back a potential low-level future pick or to open a roster spot to make an emergency signing in the event that injuries become a problem for the second-straight season, it would be best for both parties to part ways, and Oklahoma City should take the first opportunity it can to do so before officially losing him for literally nothing in return once his contract expires next summer.