Will Dawkins’ 7-year-old son, Trey, is still getting used to his dad’s new gig with the Wizards.

Trey is a Thunder fan, after all. Born and raised here, where his dad spent 15 seasons in the Thunder’s front office, holding every job title imaginable. Dawkins’ roots with the franchise date back to Seattle, where Sam Presti hired Dawkins as an intern.

Vice president of basketball operations was Dawkins’ role for the last three years in Oklahoma City before Dawkins got the chance to run his own team.

Last summer, the Wizards hired Dawkins as their new general manager. In Washington, Dawkins works alongside another former Thunder executive in Michael Winger, the president of Monumental Basketball, where Winger oversees the Wizards and their G League franchise as well as the WNBA’s Mystics.

“We’re trying to build it the right way,” Wizards interim coach Brian Keefe said, “and those guys have a great vision.”

More: Why former OKC Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha sees 'a lot of what we had' in current team

Will Dawkins takes lessons from Thunder to Wizards

Trey, who memorized Thunder substitution patterns, who would tell his dad when the Thunder should challenge a call and who would text Thunder coach Mark Daigneault with pointers, may or may not have been cheering for the Thunder in its blowout win against the Wizards on Friday night in Oklahoma City.

But give Dawkins and Winger time. After so many aimless years, the Wizards now have a direction. Building from the ground up? Presti, Dawkins and Co. made it look easy in Oklahoma City, but no two team constructions are the same.

“It’s hard to replicate anything in the NBA,” Dawkins told The Oklahoman.

Even still, Dawkins knows the general blueprint, which he and Winger will tweak to their liking, all with the goal of bringing NBA relevance back to the nation’s capital.

“I’m very grateful and thankful for my time here in Oklahoma City,” Dawkins said, “but also the opportunity that I’ve been allowed to help reshape the Washington Wizards.”

More: OKC Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is chasing greatness and isn't afraid to fail on the way

Emerson College a common tie for OKC Thunder

Dawkins grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he led the Springfield High School of Commerce to a basketball state championship, winning the title on the Celtics’ iconic parquet court.

“And now you’re coming back as a general manager,” said Dawkins, whose Wizards played in Boston earlier this month. “That was a cool feeling, for sure.”

At Emerson College in Boston, where not only Presti, but also Thunder vice president of basketball operations Rob Hennigan attended, Dawkins studied broadcast journalism. He thought he might want to be an analyst or a sideline reporter — anything to stay close to the game.

ESPN offered him an internship. Dawkins turned it down, though, for an internship with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Good decision by Dawkins, whose whole job is based on decisions big and small, with each choice leading to endless chain reactions. That’s the job of an NBA general manager.

“The different roles and hats and conversations that I was able to have at every level within the (Thunder) organization, during that time of growth, really prepared me for this opportunity here in Washington,” Dawkins said.

Dawkins worked behind the scenes in OKC, but now the bright lights are on him as general manager. That’s what Dawkins wanted. More skin in the game, as he put it.

“You can put your imprint on the culture and the style and the personnel and everything that goes into it,” Dawkins said. “Those decisions I don’t take lightly, but those are the ones that you really wake up and get excited for.”

More: How OKC Thunder rookie Cason Wallace was built by Hamilton Park, Texas. 'That’s who I am'

Washington will have to methodically build through the draft, which Dawkins knows a thing or two about. The Wizards (9-47) have the second-worst record in the NBA, losers of 10 straight, the latest being a 41-point drubbing by the Thunder.

The Wizards’ game in Oklahoma City was well-timed, though.

“A lot of my wife’s family is still here in Oklahoma,” Dawkins said. “I actually brought the kids back this weekend because it’s grandma’s birthday weekend as well.

“Oklahoma,” Dawkins said, “has a strong place in my heart.”

It’s where Presti and Clay Bennett gave Dawkins his chance. Where Dawkins, in his words, became a man. Where he spent most of his adult life. Where he met his wife. Where his son and two daughters were born.

Where his time with the Thunder prepared him to run the Wizards, a team of his own.

“Having skin in the game, that’s the part of the job you don’t want to run away from, you want to run toward,” Dawkins said. “That’s what makes this opportunity in Washington so exciting.”

More: Who makes the OKC Thunder list for 15 best players in team history?

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Wizards GM Will Dawkins grew in time with OKC Thunder