Tag: Will Dawkins

Thunder GM Sam Presti comments on Will Dawkins’ departure to the Wizards

“I just couldn’t be more excited for him. I think it’s great and I think he’s going to do great.”

This year’s draft was a little different for the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was the first one in 15 years without front-office member Will Dawkins.

The Thunder lost Dawkins to the Washington Wizards earlier this month. They hired him as their new general manager. Dawkins is second in command behind former Thunder front office member Michael Winger, who was named the president of the Wizards.

The Wizards had quite the busy draft night. They traded up for the No. 7 pick and drafted Metropolitan forward Bilal Coulibaly, who was heavily linked to the Thunder in mock drafts.

In his post-draft press conference, Thunder general manager Sam Presti spoke about Dawkins and his departure, noting how proud he is of his former assistant working his way up to a GM job.

“Been with him for a really long time, so I’m super proud and excited for him and he’s going to do — he’s already off to a great start obviously. To be with Michael (Winger) and just to have those two guys working together, it’s surreal.

“I’m super grateful because I know myself personally, like I’ve been so blessed over the time I’ve been here to work with people like that, to have had Will for that long, I was the beneficiary of that just like with Mike or any of the other guys. Now Acie (Law) has stepped right in and has done an incredible job this year.

“So we are a collection of individual people that are all kind of working towards a common goal and I want to believe that when people leave here and they go into bigger and better things that they feel like they did, you know, some of their best work of their lives. I just couldn’t be more excited for him. I think it’s great and I think he’s going to do great.”

Presti’s general manager tree continues to grow as Dawkins is added to the long list of Thunder front office members who have graduated to decision-making jobs for other teams throughout the league.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Report: Thunder’s Will Dawkins hired as Wizards No. 2 Executive

Will Dawkins leaves OKC after 15 years with the Thunder.

The Washington Wizards hired Will Dawkins as the No. 2 basketball executive, per The Athletic, meaning the Oklahoma City Thunder have lost a key member of their front office.

This possibility was first reported by Marc Stein, who said Dawkins’ history with new Wizards president Michael Winger could play a role in his hiring. Dawkins and Winger were with the Thunder from 2010 to 2017 before the latter left for the LA Clippers.

Dawkins, a graduate of Emerson College, has slowly climbed the ranks within the Thunder front office, starting as a video coordinator in 2009 to being named the VP of basketball ops in 2020.

Other job titles Dawkins held during his time with the Thunder include scouting coordinator (2010-12), director of college player personnel (2012-17) and VP of identification and intelligence (2017-20).

Update:

Dawkins is officially the general manager for the Wizards.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Report: Thunder’s Will Dawkins a strong candidate for Wizards GM job

The Wizards could look into Thunder executive Will Dawkins as possibly their next GM.

The Oklahoma City Thunder might be on the verge of losing a key front-office member.

The Washington Wizards recently hired former LA Clippers general manager Michael Winger to become their new team president. One of his first moves will be deciding who to hire as the Wizards’ GM.

A possible candidate is Thunder executive Will Dawkins, who spent time with Winger when he was in OKC from 2010 to 2017.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported on the possibility, saying their previous relationship and Dawkins’ bright future could help him land the Wizards’ GM job.

Dawkins — a graduate of Emerson College — has slowly climbed the ranks within the Thunder front office, starting as a video coordinator in 2009 to eventually being named the VP of basketball ops in 2020.

Dawkins shares the title with Rob Hennigan, who was the Orlando Magic GM for five years (2012-2017) before returning to the Thunder.

Other job titles Dawkins held during his time with the Thunder include scouting coordinator (2010-12), director of college player personnel (2012-17) and VP of identification and intelligence (2017-20).

Dawkins was part of Thunder GM Sam Presti’s post-draft press conference in 2022: He played a key role in the draft process.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

OKC Thunder news: Mark Daigneault, Will Dawkins named on The Athletic’s 40 of the NBA’s best personnel under the age of 40 list

The Thunder’s coaching and front office is shown some love from The Athletic.

The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov released an article on Monday that listed off 40 of the NBA’s best non-players personnel in the league that are under the age of 40 years old.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had two representatives on the list that include head coach Mark Daigneault, who is 37 years old, and VP of basketball operations Will Dawkins, who is 35 years old:

“Daigneault became one of the youngest head coaches in the NBA when Oklahoma City hired him prior to the 2020-21 season. He has made a quick rise to the position and showed enough potential to get hired by Sam Presti at just 35. He was a college assistant before the Thunder brought him on in 2014; he subsequently spent four seasons as the head coach of the organization’s G League team. The Thunder are just 41-91 with him at the front of the bench but he has helped lead a very youthful roster through two lean years as the franchise has focused more on development during his term.”

“Dawkins seems like the next Thunder front-office executive to get an opportunity to run his own team, following in the footsteps of Rob Hennigan and Troy Weaver, and has already been identified as a potential future GM. He started in the video room and has since spent 14 seasons in Oklahoma City, and now has an integral role alongside Sam Presti.”

It’s nice to see both of these individuals gain some national recognition for the work they are putting in with the Thunder. Especially in Daigneault’s case, who has done a great job in two seasons with a rebuilding squad.

[mm-video type=video id=01fx8wbqy0thvj1mg47c playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fx8wbqy0thvj1mg47c/01fx8wbqy0thvj1mg47c-1af1f108ce534d9bc3c2acda33fceb82.jpg]

[listicle id=457764]