Scott Brooks Fired

[The Derski]

OKC could hire a retarded monkey and if Durant is healthy next year they'll make the playoffs. Never understood these type of desicions.

 

[OregonDucks]

Brooks made the playoffs each year as coach of OKC....made the finals once and conf finals 3? Times out of 7 years. This is the first year he doesn't make the playoffs due to a completely depleted roster...

OKC please see Mike Dunleavy and Portland. Enjoy.

 

[GenJac]

Why fire a coach who consistently wins and who the players like and respect? The only way I can make sense of it is if Sam Presti knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Durant and Westbrook will be leaving sooner rather than later (as has been rumored for some time now) and he simply wants to start a new regime with a new coach to go with new key players. But even then... it's not easy to find a good coach who has a history of consistently winning at the NBA level so this still doesn't appear to be a good decision to me.

It just shows you how involved the big stars are in the process. Most of the players are grown men who have been coached for a long time. Even back in the day, Lenny Wilkins and Bill Russell were player coaches. Pretty sure Russ won or was close. My point is the more superstars you got the less the coach matters. Where it works, San Antonio, they keep it going. We won't know if Brooks would be as good as Pop because it is a what did you do for me today league. Same for New England in football or the old Celtic teams with Red. This was another Thunder Blunder.

 

[purguy12]

Brooks will get a job real fast.

 

[purguy12]

Why fire a coach who consistently wins and who the players like and respect? The only way I can make sense of it is if Sam Presti knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Durant and Westbrook will be leaving sooner rather than later (as has been rumored for some time now) and he simply wants to start a new regime with a new coach to go with new key players. But even then... it's not easy to find a good coach who has a history of consistently winning at the NBA level so this still doesn't appear to be a good decision to me.

It just shows you how involved the big stars are in the process. Most of the players are grown men who have been coached for a long time. Even back in the day, Lenny Wilkins and Bill Russell were player coaches. Pretty sure Russ won or was close. My point is the more superstars you got the less the coach matters. Where it works, San Antonio, they keep it going. We won't know if Brooks would be as good as Pop because it is a what did you do for me today league. Same for New England in football or the old Celtic teams with Red. This was another Thunder Blunder.

I agree makes no sense. Plus he lost his top 3 players this year(in and out)

 

[Black Adam]

Will be interesting to see what direction they go.

damn, that sucks. but it is that kinda business...

 

[Hambombs]

Mark Jackson 2.0. They should be better

 

[lakersrule]

Mark Jackson 2.0. They should be better

Maybe. I don't see how Brooks was holding them back though. They were elite on both ends of the floor a couple of seasons ago. They did as well as they likely could the last couple of season considering the injury issues.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Mark Jackson 2.0

Mark Jackson, Vinny Del *****, Del Harris, Bob Hill, Avery Johnson, etc etc

Certain guys you just know have taken a talented roster as far as they can.
Often they achieve almost greatness, but there is something missing.

It has nothing to do with injuries and W-L.
You can just have a "gut feeling" about certain guys.

Sometimes it does backfires like a George Karl type Denver collapse.
But, it's almost always the right move. You know some guys are not winning with the roster.

Poor timing, YES.
Awkward Implementation, YES.
Ultimately the Correct move regardless, BIG YES.

 

[Hambombs]

Maybe. I don't see how Brooks was holding them back though. They were elite on both ends of the floor a couple of seasons ago. They did as well as they likely could the last couple of season considering the injury issues.

They're the most talented team in the nba lol. A good X's and O's coach will get them the title

 

[lakersrule]

Mark Jackson, Vinny Del *****, Del Harris, Bob Hill, Avery Johnson, etc etc

Certain guys you just know have taken a talented roster as far as they can.
Often they achieve almost greatness, but there is something missing.

It has nothing to do with injuries and W-L.
You can just have a "gut feeling" about certain guys.

Sometimes it does backfires like a George Karl type Denver collapse.
But, it's almost always the right move. You know some guys are not winning with the roster.

Poor timing, YES.
Awkward Implementation, YES.
Ultimately the Correct move regardless, BIG YES.

Some of those aren't very good examples Horns. Doc hasn't led the Clippers anywhere that Vinny didn't. Arguably the GOAT coach took over for Del. Hill never had Duncan.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

I never said it always works out.

But, you just know that a guy like Brooks is not winning a title.
Its tough to explain. Its a gut feeling about certain guys.

Heck, the Thunder might suck worse next year.
But, the goal is to win. There is nothing about Scott Brooks that suggest he is ever going to win.

I applaud the Thunder for saying WE WANT TO WIN NOW.

 

[lakersrule]

They're the most talented team in the nba lol. A good X's and O's coach will get them the title

How has Brooks held them back though? It's easy just to say "a good X's and O's coach will get them the title." They've had elite teams under Brooks. Was it his fault that Harden was garbage in the 2012 Finals or that KD hardly played this season?

 

[lakersrule]

For you to ask any of those questions indicates you don't have a clue of how well Sam Presti conducts business. Of course he has a plan and of course Durant and Westbrook were involved in the discussions

Maybe not according to Sam Amick...

"Presti has never been the type to clear moves with his players before pulling the proverbial trigger, and so it was in this case. He is known to have made the move without consulting Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or anyone else who wears a jersey, which never stopped them from standing by Presti's side every other time he took this kind of decisive action."

Scott Brooks firing more about the future than the past

 

[bksballer89]

They're the most talented team in the nba lol. A good X's and O's coach will get them the title

This was the first year where they were the most talented team in the league.

Previous years they were never the most talented team in the league. OKC roster before the trading deadline was always pretty shitty after Ibaka

 

[Wishbone]

They will be the most talented team in the league next year. 2 top 5 players plus Ibaka, Kanter, Adams, Waiters, and Morrow. The right coach will get them to the promised land.

 

[bksballer89]

They will be the most talented team in the league next year. 2 top 5 players plus Ibaka, Kanter, Adams, Waiters, and Morrow. The right coach will get them to the promised land.

Not to be a dick or anything but isn't Kanter and Waiters FA this summer? No lock they both re-signed....I woudn't want Waiters back to be honest

 

[wildturkey]

This. Pretty similar situation with Mark Jackson's departure from the Warriors. Good players coach, but his methods and actual in game coaching were not up to par. Jackson took the team as far as they could go under him and we've (so far) seen what can be done with a better coaching staff.

I saw Stephen A Smith on Sportscenter actually suggest the Thunder should hire Jackson. That just proves once again that he's a hack that doesn't know jackshit about the game but just promotes people he likes. Brooks and Jackson have the exact same pros and cons. It would make no sense at all to hire Jackson. You'd still be stuck with a coach that would give you nothing offensively and basically forcing your stars to do everything.

As I said in the other topic about his rumored firing, I get the decision. It's not just a this year thing, it's been building for awhile. Brooks coaching has been holding them back. He's too bland offensively relying too heavily on Durant and Westbrook Isos. His game management is questionable. And he played Kendrick Perkins for reasons that defy all logic. They saw the ceiling with him. When you don't think you have the guy, you just can't keep him around for the heck of it. You either believe he can do it or can't, regardless of in the moment circumstances (like the injuries this year).

 

[podsox]

im sure they will take a look at thibs. thibs will coaching the thunder or pelicans next yr imo

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Adams are fine. That is 57 wins there alone.

But, Waiters and Kanter are completely over-valued players that make a team worse by god awful defense and a history of being clubhouse losers

No surprise that both the Jazz and Cavs dramatically their defenses and club chemistry without them.
UTAH probably had a better record than the Thunder since the trade. They certainly were a better team.

I would not re-sign Waiters at all. No team needs a mediocre perimeter player with crap defense and a history of being on losing teams with a bad attitude problem.

Take a chance on Kanter, but only if he commits to being at least mediocre on defense....while zipping up his mouth. He does have great offensive potential, but isn't great enough to justify shitty D and asswipe attitude.