Despite the fact that he’s already spent five seasons at the helm of the Thunder and that his All-Star dynamic duo was just dispatched in five games by the Trail Blazers, head coach Billy Donovan is expected to return to his post in 2019/20.
That patience in an era of scapegoating and quick fixes, Brett Dawson of The Athletic writes, could be attributed to general manager Sam Presti‘s tendency to take a long view on things.
Dawson writes about Donovan’s impact in Oklahoma City over the past few seasons, suggesting that he’s earned the faith of the organization and this is one organization in particular that isn’t afraid to see things through.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Timberwolves CEO Ethan Casson has nothing but high praise for recent franchise hire Gersson Rosas, Chris Hine of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes. Rosas impressed the organization with a detailed vision not only for a generic basketball franchise but for the Timberwolves in particular. Beyond the team’s current roster, Rosas had a deep understanding of the team’s history and marketplace.
- Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic logged a record-breaking 65 minutes played in Denver’s four-overtime loss to the Trail Blazers Friday night. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told the media afterward that he apologized for giving his center such a heavy work load. Jokic averaged 31.3 minutes per game for Denver this season.
- Despite struggles from the field in his first playoff experience, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is figuring out the difference between regular and playoff basketball, Sean Keeler of The Denver Post writes.
Remember that Taylor is the same clown who hired and employed David K – A – H – N as GM for 4 years.
What did K – A – H – N do?
the hiring of Kurt Rambis and Rick Adelman as Head Coach.
Bypassing Stephan Currey to draft Jonny Flynn.
Overpaying Darko Milicic to a long-term deal, and Electing not to sign Kevin Love to a year extension.
BUT DO NOT BE FORLORN FOR THE WOLVES
According to his parting interview as posted on Hoops Rumors on 05/03/2013 K – A – H – N responded to the question of the position in which he left the Timberwolves:
“Highly well positioned. I think it’s a team that’s a force to be reckoned with the next seven to 10 years. Very few teams, when you think about it, have the star power contained in Ricky [Rubio] and Kevin. [Nikola] Pekovic is becoming a significant player at his position in the league. You have [Andrei] Kirilenko, [Alexey] Shved, [J.J.] Barea, [Chase] Budinger, there’s a lot and I’m leaving people out. There’s just a lot of talent on the roster and it’s mostly young talent, mid-20s and under. I think the team is very well positioned to make a serious run these next several years. The organization is better positioned than it was.”
Reflect on the team’s performance over the past 6 years as well as the performance of those players highlighted as being part of the team’s bright future.