Thunder are missing a Golden Opportunity

[tlance]

Doc Rivers is unsure whether or not he wants to return to the Celtics as he is unwilling to undergo a rebuild and he is reportedly interested in the Clippers job. If the Thunder acted quickly and rid themselves of Brooks, they could lock up one of the premier coaches in the game and virtually insure a ring or two. No chance Rivers would choose the Clippers or the Celtics over the Thunder if both jobs were available.

Act quickly OKC, or risk watching Durant grow old with 0 rings. Scott Brooks is not your guy.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

Doc would be a great fit in any place with talent, and I loved the idea of him coaching the Clippers but love it even more for OKC.

We can not guarantee Doc would go there or that it would guarantee them rings. #heatles oops moments


that would be so sick though Doc in LA or OKC, mostly OKC

 

[tlance]

With the Ibaka, Westbrook and Durant core as young as they are and locked into long term deals, they would have to win 1 with Doc. Their current window is larger than probably any other contender because of the youth of the core group.

You are right that rings are never guaranteed, but they would be right there at the end every year with Doc. If you get there enough times, you have to break through eventually, right?

 

[BOTSLAYER]

They are there at the end every year now except when injured, but there is no way Doc would not be a rather large upgrade at HC.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Lakers got Dontknowi, so take that.

 

[b_lake]

Doc Rivers is unsure whether or not he wants to return to the Celtics as he is unwilling to undergo a rebuild and he is reportedly interested in the Clippers job. If the Thunder acted quickly and rid themselves of Brooks, they could lock up one of the premier coaches in the game and virtually insure a ring or two. No chance Rivers would choose the Clippers or the Celtics over the Thunder if both jobs were available.

Act quickly OKC, or risk watching Durant grow old with 0 rings. Scott Brooks is not your guy.

Real Talk...

 

[RobToxin]

From the 4-letter network:

The Clippers are eyeing a deal that could bring Rivers, Garnett and Pierce to LA.

Los Angeles Clippers believe they can land Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, according to sources - ESPN

Disclaimer: This is from ESPN with their typical "according to sources" so ... take it for what it's worth.

 

[SportsChic]

Doc Rivers is unsure whether or not he wants to return to the Celtics as he is unwilling to undergo a rebuild and he is reportedly interested in the Clippers job. If the Thunder acted quickly and rid themselves of Brooks, they could lock up one of the premier coaches in the game and virtually insure a ring or two. No chance Rivers would choose the Clippers or the Celtics over the Thunder if both jobs were available.

Act quickly OKC, or risk watching Durant grow old with 0 rings. Scott Brooks is not your guy.

Wooing Phil Jackson would be a better choice.

Since we all know that he loves to take over teams that where built by another coach that couldn't get them over the hump.

 

[tlance]

Wooing Phil Jackson would be a better choice.

Since we all know that he loves to take over teams that where built by another coach that couldn't get them over the hump.

Phil would be an upgrade for sure, but I don't think his body can handle the rigors of an NBA season anymore. He likes to tease, but I think he is done coaching. He may eventually take a front office job somewhere.

As for half the Celtics team potentially going to the Clips, that would be crazy. They just better get it in before free agency begins so they don't lose CP3.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I'm kind of confused.

So if this trade happened:

C's offer: Garnett, Pierce, Rivers

Clip's offer: Jordan and possibly Bledsoe

Then in another trade:

Clips offer: Griffin and Bledsoe

Lakers offer: Howard

 

[Kold]

Wooing Phil Jackson would be a better choice.

Since we all know that he loves to take over teams that where built by another coach that couldn't get them over the hump.

2005 Lakers

 

[bksballer89]

Scott Brooks is not the issue with OKC. They just need a legit post presence because right now they're strictly a jump shooting team without many deadly 3 point shooters

 

[HurricaneDij39]

Scott Brooks is not the issue with OKC. They just need a legit post presence because right now they're strictly a jump shooting team without many deadly 3 point shooters

I kind of agree with Barkley that using Durant as a point forward was kind of a dumb move. Let your guards be guards. That's the same reason your Heat had a difficult time with a much lesser talented team in my Pacers. LeBron did all the ball-handling while most the other guys were standing around.

 

[tlance]

Scott Brooks is not the issue with OKC. They just need a legit post presence because right now they're strictly a jump shooting team without many deadly 3 point shooters

I disagree. Brooks' roster management has always been among the worst in the NBA. It just doesn't always show because they win anyway. His use of Durant was poor this year once Westbrook went down, but there are other issues too. The Thunder were significantly more talented than the Heat last year. The difference was that Spoelstra drastically outcoached Brooks.

Brooks is notorious for over-using fading vets like Derek Fisher and Kendrick Perkins. Last year, Perkins averaged almost as many minutes as Ibaka. That is straight negligent. Perkins is good at one thing only, (guarding the post) and the Heat had 0 low post scorers. Why was Perkins even on the court? Perkins was needed against teams like the Spurs, but even then he received too many minutes.

Ditto for Fisher. Fish playing 20+ minutes while Harden is only getting 30 is just as bad. Harden played like crap, but after watching him blossom into one of the elite SGs in the NBA in a year away from OKC, we see just how badly he was under-utilized.

The Thunder's ideal line-up to beat the Heat: Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosha, Durant and Ibaka was almost never on the court together. Instead, Brooks stubbornly stuck to his guns watching Durant pick up foul after foul guarding LeBron while his team stayed big and defensive specialist Sefolosha most matched up with Wade.

Brooks has long gotten a pass because his teams have won. The thing people fail to realize is that any of us on these message boards could have coached that team to the West Finals (maybe further) by simply getting out of the way. What did Brooks do to make them better?

 

[tlance]

The Heat have done just fine without a post presence and the Thunder were better 1-4 last year. What you should know as a Heat fan, BKS, is that guards who can get in the paint and create can break down a defense much the same way that a good post game can.

 

[tlance]

I kind of agree with Barkley that using Durant as a point forward was kind of a dumb move. Let your guards be guards. That's the same reason your Heat had a difficult time with a much lesser talented team in my Pacers. LeBron did all the ball-handling while most the other guys were standing around.

The difference is that LeBron has the skill set to be a primary ball handler. Durant does not.

 

[RobToxin]

I'm kind of confused.

So if this trade happened:

C's offer: Garnett, Pierce, Rivers

Clip's offer: Jordan and possibly Bledsoe

Then in another trade:

Clips offer: Griffin and Bledsoe

Lakers offer: Howard

That's an ESPN report with unnamed sources for ya.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

The difference is that LeBron has the skill set to be a primary ball handler. Durant does not.

Durant played PG before he grew 10 inches in a summer, I think the bigger mistake has been not having him play PG more often.

That's an ESPN report with unnamed sources for ya.

oh ESPN, makin shit up as always

 

[tlance]

Durant is a finisher. LeBron is a creator. If you make Durant a facilitator, he can do the job alright, but you take away what he does best.

I should not have said he lacks the skills.

 

[Jims_Doors]

"Doc Rivers has a non-compete clause in his contract with the Boston Celtics.

The clause reads that Rivers cannot work for another NBA team for the duration of his contract. Rivers has three years and $21 million remaining on the deal.

Danny Ainge could allow Rivers to leave and become head coach of another team in exchange for draft picks and cash considerations.

Prying Doc Rivers away from Celtics no easy task - CBSSports.com