Feb. 5, 2026, 12:00 p.m. CT
Doing their work early, the Oklahoma City Thunder made their moves pretty early at the 2026 NBA trade deadline extravaganza. One familiar face departed and a new one was added at the bottom of their depth chart.
The Thunder acquired Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade that folks around the league consider a steal. The 21-year-old was outside of their rotation as injuries have slowed down any momentum he had at the start of his career.
To make space on the 15-man roster, the Thunder shipped Ousmane Dieng to the Charlotte Hornets, who was rerouted to the Chicago Bulls. He’s on an expiring $6.7 million salary. A trade felt inevitable considering he never really found his footing in OKC.
Despite that, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault spoke highly of Dieng’s time in OKC. They added him with the No. 11 pick of the 2022 NBA draft. The long-term project struggled with consistency and health in his four seasons there.
“I have a great appreciation for Ous. First thing I’ll say is he was the youngest player in that draft. He’s still only 22 years old. He’s still a couple of years away from the beginning of his prime as a basketball player. We have a lot of belief in him as a basketball player,” Daigneault said. “He showed a lot of growth here from when he came in until now. Certainly physically, skill-wise, competitively. All the way around. When he got his spots the last couple of years, he performed well and functionally for us. Helped us stabilize parts of the schedule where we were missing rotation players. Did a nice job for us.”
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Dieng was an example of a project joining a rebuild at the wrong time. The Thunder quickly ascended to being an NBA champion. In just three seasons, they went from falling short in the play-in tournament to bringing home a Larry O’Brien trophy. That type of rapid growth isn’t the ideal environment for someone who needs a couple of years to carve out his path.
“The role he had on him didn’t meet his expectations coming in, but that never got in the way of his professionalism or diligence or team orientation,” Daigneault said. “He was constantly additive.”
Considering where OKC was at the time, Dieng was worth the flyer. The Thunder were still trying to figure out who the foundational pieces were to their next contender. That turned out to be his fellow draft classmates in Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Hopefully, Dieng can make the most at his new spot. He has two months to convince the Bulls or another team why he should get a second NBA contract. He wasn’t going to get that opportunity on the Thunder. The one-time NBA champion will get a fresh start.
“We won a championship last year, and he was a part of that. He added when he could, but he certainly didn’t take anything away even though he might not have had the role that he wanted all the time,” Daigneault said. “I certainly respect that about him and appreciate that. He knows that from us when I saw him today and we wish him all the best. He’s a guy that we’ll be rooting for because of the way he handled himself with us.”