Possible Candidates for the OKC Job
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Today the Oklahoma City Thunder made headlines by firing Head Coach Scott Brooks. Brooks in his 7 years as the Thunder coach had a record of 338-207 and one NBA Finals appearance. Brooks had the public backing of its 2 stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but the Thunder decided that it was in their best interests for the future of their program to go in a different direction. Now we'll look at the possible directions the Thunder can go in, names that have been brought up already, and names I expect will pop up in the next couple months of their coaching search.
Kevin Ollie - UConn Huskies HC: Ollie is the name that's been brought up the most the last year or so for possible replacements for Brooks, and for good reason. He recently won a National Championship at the University, and is thought of as one of the best young coaches in basketball. He was also a former teammate of Westbrook and Durant, and they apparently still keep in contact. It's always a challenge to bring in a coach that's never been on an NBA coaching staff, but the last few former guards to jump immediately into the coaching ranks, such as Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson, Steve Kerr, have all been successful in their stints. Ollie, like the aforementioned names, was a smart veteran guard in his playing days, and could see a similar transition into the NBA coaching game. Will be a completely different challenge for Ollie though, seeing as how he would be expected to be the one to keep Durant and Westbrook from leaving OKC in free agency in the coming years.
Billy Donovan - Florida Gators HC: Donovan wasn't expected to be an option for current NBA openings until just recently. This past year wasn't the best year Donovan has ever had at Florida, as they missed the NCAA tournament, and now it's been reported that Donovan is expected to make the jump into the NBA if he's offered. Donovan in 2008 had accepted the Orlando Magic coaching job, until a few weeks later he decided that he wasn't ready to leave Florida. His name has been floated around as a possibility in the last few weeks for the OKC job, and now Yahoo! Sports reporter Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that Donovan is considered a top candidate to replace Brooks. It would be interesting seeing as how he has never been on an NBA coaching staff and his only NBA connection is when he spent 1 year in the league back in the the 1988 season. In my opinion, Billy Donovan, as good a coach as he is at the college level, wouldn't be the guy that would eventually lead the Thunder to a possible NBA championship and convince Durant to stay. Donovan would be more fit to lead a young up and coming team that he could develop. Ironically, the Orlando Magic fit the bill once again.
Tom Thibodeau - Chicago Bulls HC: Thibs is an interesting option. He's currently the Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls, but rumors are swirling around about his dissipating relationship with Bulls upper management, has Thibodeau on the outs if he can't bring them a title this season. The Thunder are expected to offer either Donovan or Ollie the coaching job first, but if they both decline in order to stay at their current jobs, or to accept other offers, OKC could hold off just to see how the situation in Chicago plays out. If Chicago indeed decides to fire Thibodeau at the end of their season, I would fully expect the Thunder to put the full court press for Thibs to be their next Head Coach.
Mark Jackson - Current ESPN Analyst: Jackson the current ESPN analyst, was the man who helped build the Warriors into one of the NBA's top teams until he became the victim of a failing coach-upper management relationship (similar to the current Thibodeau/Bulls situation). It would be expected that Jackson is itching to get back into the coaching ranks, and if the Thunder can't get Ollie or Donovan (their expected top 2 options) to become the coach, and if the Bulls decide to keep Thibodeau as their coach, Jackson would be their next best option. He would be able to immediately command the respect of the locker room, and I would expect him to be able to keep Durant from leaving due to his previous success as an NBA coach.
John Calipari - Kentucky Wildcats HC: An extreme longshot and pure speculation here, but there have been rumors that Calipari is intrigued about the possibility of coaching in the NBA again. Calipari was offered a 10 year deal to be the HC and President of operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer, he ended up declining but that was before LeBron decided to return, and I'm sure that's now a decision he regrets. Calipari is probably the best recruiter in all of college basketball, and the Thunder could try to use his abilities to try and keep Durant long term. Not sure if he would be the best coach for this team, but it's an intriguing possibility.
It's early in the process and there are likely going to be more names that are floated around, but so far this list is who I would expect could become a possibility for the Thunder. In all reality, each move going forward will have the expectation that it's going to help Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook remain with the team for the long term. It starts with their head coach, and for their sake, they better get this right because if not, it will be a long road to becoming contenders again.
