Draft picks was traded to the
Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder did not own their first-round pick or second-round pick entering the draft. The Thunder had their 2016 first-round pick conveyed to the
Philadelphia 76ers after being originally acquired by the
Cleveland Cavaliers in the
Dion Waiters trade back in 2015. The Thunder had their 2015 first-round pick protected top 18 however did not convey as the Thunder ended up with the 14th pick. The protections became protected top 15 which rolled over to the Thunder's 2016 first-round pick, ending up as 26th overall. The Thunder also traded their 2016 second-round pick in the
Randy Foye trade with the
Denver Nuggets in 2016. On draft night, the Thunder traded
Serge Ibaka to the
Orlando Magic in exchange for
Victor Oladipo,
Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to
Domantas Sabonis, the eleventh pick. The Thunder also traded for the draft rights to
Daniel Hamilton, the fifty-sixth pick, from the
Denver Nuggets in exchange for cash considerations. The Thunder ended
2016 NBA draft night with Gonzaga forward
Domantas Sabonis, UConn guard
Daniel Hamilton as well as
Victor Oladipo and
Ersan Ilyasova.
Trades was traded to the Thunder. On June 23, the Thunder traded
Serge Ibaka to the
Orlando Magic in exchange for
Victor Oladipo,
Ersan Ilyasova, and the draft rights to
Domantas Sabonis, the eleventh pick. Ibaka was set to hit unrestricted free agency following the
2016-17 season and was becoming unsatisfied with his role on the team, particularly his touches on offense. With the growing sentiment that Ibaka would look for another team in free agency as well as
Kevin Durant's upcoming free agency, the Thunder decided to gamble to strengthen their position to keep Durant. Oladipo came to the Thunder as the second overall pick of the
2013 NBA draft with career averages of 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals during his three-year stint with the
Orlando Magic that saw an All-Rookie First Team selection in 2014. The same day, the Thunder traded cash considerations to the
Denver Nuggets in exchange for
Daniel Hamilton, the fifty-sixth pick. On August 30, the Thunder traded two 2017 second-round picks to the
Denver Nuggets in exchange for
Joffrey Lauvergne.
Free agency For this offseason, free agency began on July 1, 2016, while the
July moratorium ended on July 6.
Kevin Durant,
Randy Foye,
Nazr Mohammed and
Dion Waiters were set to hit unrestricted free agency. On July 4, it was reported that
Kevin Durant agreed to a two-year, $54.3 million deal with the
Golden State Warriors, which he later signed on July 7. Prior to his decision, Durant met with the
Oklahoma City Thunder,
Golden State Warriors,
San Antonio Spurs,
Boston Celtics,
Miami Heat and the
Los Angeles Clippers. Durant announced his decision to leave the Thunder on
The Players' Tribune citing "by far the most challenging few weeks in my professional life." Durant spent all nine seasons with the Thunder organization, one year in
Seattle. Durant joined the Warriors as a seven-time All Star, All-NBA First Team honors five times, All-NBA Second Team honors once and named the
NBA Most Valuable Player award in 2014. Coming off an injury-riddled
2014-15 season, Durant's final act with the Thunder came off a 55–27 record, defeating the 67-win
San Antonio Spurs and nearly defeating the record setting 73-9
Golden State Warriors after leading 3–1 to lose in seven games. signed with the
Golden State Warriors after nine seasons with the Thunder. After Durant announced his intentions to sign with the Warriors, Thunder owner
Clay Bennett and Thunder general manager
Sam Presti released statements commemorating Durant. Durant's move to the Warriors was received negatively who viewed his exit as "the easy way out" to winning a championship. The decision was commonly compared to
LeBron James joining the
Miami Heat back in 2010. On July 15,
Randy Foye signed a deal with the
Brooklyn Nets. On July 26,
Dion Waiters signed a deal with the
Miami Heat after he became an unrestricted free agent. After the signing of
Alex Abrines, the Thunder rescinded Waiters' qualifying offer in order to prioritize flexibility. On July 23,
Alex Abrines signed a rookie deal with the Thunder. Abrines was originally selected 32nd overall in the
2013 NBA draft but did not sign a contract in the
2013-14 season, instead playing three seasons with
FC Barcelona. On August 11, it was reported that
Ronnie Price agreed to a two-year, $5 million deal with the Thunder, which he later signed on August 14. On August 20,
Semaj Christon signed a rookie deal with the Thunder. Christon was originally selected 55th overall in the
2014 NBA draft but did not sign a contract in the
2014-15 season, instead playing two seasons with the
Oklahoma City Blue. With the emergence of Christon, the Thunder decided to waive Price's guaranteed contract along with
Mitch McGary to finalize the regular season roster. McGary was suspended for a total of 15 games to start the season due to a drug violation. Originally picked 21st overall in the
2014 NBA draft, McGary suffered an injury-riddled second season with the Thunder after a promising rookie year. was extended to a renegotiated contract. After Durant's departure, Westbrook's future with the Thunder was speculated with trade rumors. However, on August 4,
Russell Westbrook agreed to a renegotiation-and-extension of his contract worth $85.7 million. On October 31, the Thunder re-signed
Steven Adams and
Victor Oladipo to multi-year contract extensions. Playing on their last year of their rookie contracts, both Adams and Oladipo were selected in the
2013 NBA draft.
Andre Roberson, who was also in the draft, did not reach a deal with the Thunder. Oladipo agreed to a four-year, $84 million deal while Adams agreed to a four-year, $100 million deal.
Front office and coaching changes On June 1,
Billy Donovan announced associate head coach
Monty Williams would not return to the Thunder for the
2016-17 season. Williams did not return to the Thunder during the
2015-16 season following the death of his wife, Ingrid. On July 1, the Thunder announced
Adrian Griffin, Vin Bhavnani and
Royal Ivey as assistant coaches. Griffin joins the Thunder after serving as an assistant coach with the
Orlando Magic. Bhavnani joins the coaching staff after serving as the manager of advanced scouting/player development for the Thunder. Ivey joins the coaching staff after serving as a player development assistant for the Thunder. ==Roster==