Two Former OKC Thunder Players Traded to Detroit Pistons

The pipeline of former Oklahoma City Thunder staffers and players runs deep in the league. General manager Sam Presti has helped his assistants land jobs and the team's rebuild has former Thunder players littered across the league.

On Sunday, those worlds collided as a Thunder-heavy transaction was made with the team not even being involved.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Detroit Pistons agreed on a trade to send Marvin Bagley, Isaiah Livers and two future second-round draft picks to the Washington Wizards in return for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala.

Of course, the two names that scream Thunder in this trade are Gallinari and Muscala. Gallinari spent the 2019-20 season with the underdog Thunder team that defied all odds by making the playoffs. He averaged 18.7 points per game in just under 30 minutes per game. His services were needed on the team as they were a rounded team that scored by committee.

Then there's Muscala, who served a bigger role on the team for longer as he was a key veteran in the team's rebuild. He spent three-and-a-half seasons in Oklahoma City before the team traded him to the Boston Celtics at the trade deadline a season ago.

While his stats weren't eye-popping in Oklahoma City, Muscala provided some incredible moments and played a vital role in the team being as mature as it was while being one of the youngest teams in the league.

Still, the trade involves even more former Thunder members behind the scenes. Both general managers in the trade -- Wizards' Will Dawkins and Pistons' Troy Weaver -- were assistants with the Thunder under Sam Presti.

Both general managers had been with the Thunder since 2008 before both taking their respective jobs. Dawkins was hired by the Wizards in 2023 as Weaver was hired by the Pistons in 2020. Both have made moves in a similar fashion to the way Presti would have operated in Oklahoma City.

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