Following the spring departure of vice president of basketball operations Troy Weaver, the Thunder have announced a series of promotions within their front office, including the filling of Weaver’s old role. Those promotions are as follows:
- Rob Hennigan to VP of basketball operations
- Will Dawkins to VP of basketball operations
- Jesse Gould to VP of strategy and analytics
- Wynn Sullivan to VP of strategy and design
- Brandon Barnett to director of player personnel
- Nazr Mohammed to pro personnel evaluator and GM of the Oklahoma City Blue
- Paul Johnson to assistant GM of the OKC Blue
The Thunder also confirmed the previously-reported hiring of former Rivals.com analyst Corey Evans as an amateur scout.
“We are proud of the continued evolution of our Executive Team and the promotions of many long-tenured Thunder team members,” executive VP of basketball operations Sam Presti said in a statement. “These individuals have demonstrated a consistent commitment to our vision for Thunder basketball on and off the floor, and we are grateful for their contributions. The continued leadership development of our entire staff is essential to our focus of sustaining an elite basketball infrastructure.”
The promotions of Hennigan and Dawkins are most notable, as they appear poised to take on more senior positions in the front office following Weaver’s exit. Hennigan is in his second stint with the franchise, having left Oklahoma City to become Orlando’s GM for five years from 2012-17, while Dawkins has risen through OKC’s basketball operations department for over a decade after starting as an intern in 2008.
Mohammed’s new role is also worth noting. The former NBA center first joined Oklahoma City’s front office in December 2017 and has gone through an “extensive post-playing transition program for former players” during his three years as an executive, per today’s announcement from the team.