Scott Brooks was fired as head coach of the Thunder, after spending the last seven seasons in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder missed the playoffs, but that wasn’t Brooks’ fault, and in fact, the players on his former team will tell you just how well he managed things while Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka all missed significant time with injuries.
But with OKC essentially having one season to prove to Kevin Durant that a successful long-term plan is in place, before he’s able to bolt in free agency next summer, a change had to be made. And while Brooks has been linked to some other opportunities around the league, it appears as though he’ll take next season off to more carefully weigh his options for the future.
From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:Former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks plans to pass on interview chances with the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans and appears inclined to sit out the 2015-16 season, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Brooks, 49, wants to coach again but plans to take the year to look at television opportunities and reconnect with his family living in California, sources said.
Those who believe in Brooks as a head coach will champion his ability to have his team contending for the past five seasons, and will blame injuries for the fact that the Thunder only made it to one NBA Finals and have yet to win a title.
Others, however, will look to Brooks’ lack of ingenuity on the offensive end of the floor, and will say that his sets only worked at times because Durant and Westbrook are arguably two of the game’s top-five players, and were capable of making things happen in isolation when things broke down.
The next team that hires Brooks will be the one to make that determination. But that won’t happen for another season or so, as Brooks sits this next one out.
