The state’s Organized Crime Task Force confiscates more than 40,000 marijuana plants and 1,000 pounds of processed marijuana in a grow bust in Mayes and Craig counties.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond says they started investigating when several out-of-state vehicles were spotted hauling untagged marijuana in Vinita.

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“The Organized Crime Task Force and its partner agencies across the state are having a meaningful impact attacking the illegal marijuana trade that has infiltrated Oklahoma since the 2018 legalization of medical marijuana,” Drummond said. “The Chinese crime syndicates and Mexican drug cartels are getting the message loud and clear that they are not welcome in Oklahoma. We will not let up until this scourge is erased from our state.”

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AG Drummond said authorities found six guns and three silencers. ICE detained 15 people at the scene.

35-year-old Chinese national Qi Chen is now facing drug manufacturing and trafficking charges.

Authorities say the investigation began in early June, when multiple vehicles with out-of-state tags were seen hauling untagged processed marijuana from various sites in Vinita.

After building an NBA championship team with a commitment to young player development, the Oklahoma City Thunder dived back into the draft pool a few days after the celebration.

The Thunder used the 15th overall pick in the first round on Wednesday night on Thomas Sorber, a 6-foot-9 versatile defender with the potential to be an effective low-post scorer who played one season in college at Georgetown.

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Sorber can provide some bulk and depth behind the slender Chet Holmgren and his frontcourt partner, Isaiah Hartenstein. Oklahoma City also had the 24th pick, sending it to Sacramento in a proposed trade.

General manager Sam Presti’s trades in recent years have allowed the Thunder to stockpile picks for maximum control over the most unpredictable aspect of professional sports. They have as many as 10 first-round picks, including their own, over the next five years, including three in 2026. Last year’s first-rounder, point guard Nikola Topic, is nearly recovered from a torn ACL in his left knee that kept him out for his entire rookie season.

The Utah Jazz, who bottomed out this season with the worst record in the league, have a long way to go with their rebuild. After bad lottery luck left them with the fifth overall pick, they took wing Ace Bailey, who spent his only college season at Rutgers.

“I feel like I can improve on everything. I’m very young,” Bailey told reporters. “I’m just coming to the game, so it’s a lot of stuff I can improve, physically and mentally. I mean, from jump shots to more creativity, to more ballhandling, just all over the place.”

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The Jazz later moved up from 21st to 18th in a proposed trade with Washington that netted them point guard Walter Clayton Jr. from national champion Florida, a 22-year-old whose ball skills and clutch shooting were on full display throughout the NCAA Tournament.

The Portland Trail Blazers moved down from 11th to 16th in a proposed trade with Memphis that landed them another big man, the 7-foot-2 Yang Hansen.

With a young group led by Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan, the Blazers finished a better-than-expected 36-46 this season. They recently acquired two-time All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday from Boston for Anfernee Simons.

The Minnesota Timberwolves went big, too, with the 18-year-old project Joan Beringer at No. 17. He’s from France, like veteran Rudy Gobert, the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

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Denver Nuggets

One team that could’ve used a pick on Wednesday was Denver, which owed its first-rounder to Orlando as part of the 2021 trade for Aaron Gordon.

The Nuggets, who recently reorganized their front office, don’t have a second-rounder, either. They’re counting on a contribution this season from DaRon Holmes, their 2024 first-rounder who missed his rookie year following Achilles tendon surgery, but they could use more depth around superstar Nikola Jokic, point guard Jamal Murray and Gordon.

Utah Jazz

Needs: Dominant scorer, ball-handling guard.

Drafted: Ace Bailey, wing, Rutgers. Walter Clayton Jr., point guard, Florida. Bailey can shoot from anywhere on the court and should give the Jazz some future scoring punch. Clayton ought to be better-suited to immediately contribute after a standout four-year college career that included a run to this year’s NCAA championship.

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Current NBA player comparisons: Paul George (Bailey), Coby White (Clayton).

Portland Trail Blazers

Needs: 3-point shooter, perimeter depth.

Drafted: Yang Hansen, center, China. Somewhat of a surprise at No. 16 overall after a proposed trade with Memphis, the 19-year-old Hansen at 7-foot-1 led the Chinese Basketball Association in blocks.

Current NBA player comparison: Zach Edey.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Needs: Frontcourt player with bulk, 3-point shooting wing.

Drafted: Thomas Sorber, power forward, Georgetown. His 6-foot-9, 263-pound frame filled a need for a bigger body as a backup to Chet Holmgren at power forward or to play alongside him when bulky center Isaiah Hartenstein is resting. Sorber’s natural strength and long arms make him an effective rebounder and shot-blocker who can also finish at the rim with the ball.

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Current NBA player comparison: Kevon Looney.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Needs: Pass-first point guard, center with scoring touch.

Drafted: Joan Beringer, center, France. The 6-foot-11 project just picked up the game four years ago after switching from soccer and will have an ideal mentor in Rudy Gobert.

Current NBA player comparison: Jaxson Hayes.

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AP Sports Writers Cliff Brunt in Oklahoma City and Anne M. Peterson in Portland, Oregon, contributed.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

The Thunder didn’t exactly coast through the 2025 playoffs, having had to pull out a pair of Game 7 victories (over Denver and Indiana) in order to win their first NBA championship since the franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Still, the history books will show that this year’s Thunder were one of the NBA’s most dominant teams ever. Only four clubs have compiled more wins in a single regular season than the 68 victories Oklahoma City racked up in 2024/25, and the Thunder’s +12.7 regular season net rating ranked second all-time, behind only the 1995/96 Bulls.

OKC’s remarkable season is a testament to a rebuild that was executed nearly perfectly. Of course, Sam Presti and the Thunder got a nice head-start on that rebuilding process in 2019 when they were able to acquire future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks (four unprotected), and two pick swaps from a Clippers team willing to overpay for Paul George in order to secure Kawhi Leonard‘s free agency commitment.

Even though that move was the catalyst for this year’s championship run, many of the decisions Presti has made in the years since then have paid major dividends as well. That was especially true on draft day in 2022, when the team used its own first-round pick and one from the Clippers in order to select Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, who have since become franchise pillars and were the team’s second- and third-leading scorers behind Gilgeous-Alexander this year.

After bottoming out with a 22-60 record in 2020/21 and a 24-58 mark in ’21/22, the Thunder hit the fast-forward button on their rebuild when they added Holmgren and Williams to their roster, increasing their win total by double-digits in each of the next three seasons. They went from 24 victories to 40 to 57 to 68, earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference in both 2024 and 2025.

We’ve heard repeatedly over the last year or two that the NBA has entered its parity era. The league has had seven different champions over the last seven seasons, with no team repeating as champs since the Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

A 2016 salary-cap spike allowed Golden State to sign Kevin Durant away from Oklahoma City, adding him to a team coming off a 73-win season. But a move like that would be virtually impossible to pull off under the current system, which has eliminated the possibility of a huge single-year cap jump (annual increases are capped at 10%) and has implemented more punitive roster-building and financial penalties for teams with top-heavy rosters.

Given those new restrictions, it has become more difficult than ever for an NBA front office to build and maintain a dynasty, but if any recent champion has the makings of a dynasty, it’s these Thunder. Oklahoma City is the second-youngest team in league history to win a title, shouldn’t face any serious salary-cap or financial obstacles anytime soon, and is armed with enough future draft picks to continue adding affordable talent to its roster for years to come.

It’s a good time to be a Thunder fan.

The Thunder’s Offseason Plan

No NBA team enters the 2025 offseason with fewer short-term question marks than the Thunder, who have 13 players from their championship roster on guaranteed contracts for next season and hold team-friendly options on the other two. If they want to, they could bring back literally the exact same roster in 2025/26 while remaining well below the luxury tax line.

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