First, Troy Weaver left for the Detroit Pistons, then Billy Donovan took his talents to Chicago. Now, Paul Johnnson will follow suit.
Just two weeks ago, the Thunder announced that it promoted six members of its front office, with Rob Hennigan and Nazr Mohammed among the most recognizable names.
Johnson, however, was also among those who were promoted. After serving the franchise in a number of roles, he was promoted to general manager of the Oklahoma City Blue — the Thunder’s G League affiliate.
As it turns out, his tenure in that role will be short-lived, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday night that Johnson will be departing Oklahoma City to join the Sacramento Kings’ front office.
After the resignation of Vlade Divac back in August, the Kings eventually filled its general manager vacancy by hiring Monte McNair away from the Houston Rockets. McNair served as an assistant general manager under Daryl Morey, and since earning the job, has begun to reshape the front office in his own image.
Johnson is one of the individuals he’s tapped.
New Kings GM Monte McNair is reshaping his front office, hiring former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox as assistant GM, Philadelphia’s Phil Jabour as VP of Player Personnel and OKC’s Paul Johnson as Director of Basketball Operations, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 14, 2020
Johnson, who served as a Pro Evaluation Coordinator for the franchise before being named general manager of the OKC Blue, is just the latest member of the franchise to depart.
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of change within Sam Presti’s organization, and with Danilo Gallinari, Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder all potentially finding new homes this offseason, there may very well much more in store.
What has become obvious at this point is the fact that the Thunder organization has become highly regarded across the NBA. Others are beginning to feverishly poach Presti’s talent, which can be considered an indirect form of flattery.
In the interim, however, it may make things more difficult for Presti he will now have to make additional moves within his organization.