Thunder Rumors

Northwest Notes: Brooks, Thunder, Aldridge

April 25th, 2015 at 10:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder GM Sam Presti doesn’t think Scott Brooks is a bad coach, but he believes he can find a better one, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Brooks was fired Wednesday after the Thunder narrowly missed the playoffs with a 45-37 record. Tramel speculates that the move was about the future, noting that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have had the same coach since they entered the league. He said Presti likely wants to give them a fresh voice as they enter the next stage of their careers.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Three leading candidates to replace Brooks as Thunder coach were compared by Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Florida’s Billy Donovan and Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie have both been wildly successful as college coaches, while Tom Thibodeau has made the Bulls a perennial playoff team but is rumored to be in hot water in Chicago.
LaMarcus Aldridge is the latest in a long line of talented power forwards in Portland, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. When he was drafted by the Trail Blazers in 2006, it was to ultimately replace the man who he is now lining up against in the playoffs, the Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph. Aldridge said he remembers being labeled as a “project” early on. “People always called me ‘soft,’ but Z-Bo never did,” Aldridge said. “In practice, I would go at it. I wasn’t strong enough to bang, but I would bang with him as much as I could.” Randolph was dealt to the Knicks in 2007, but the Blazers are hoping to keep Aldridge. He is expected to be among the most sought-after free agents on the market this summer.
Aldridge made comments to Holmes that echoed those he gave to Michael Lee of The Washington Post earlier this season in which he reflected on a time when he didn’t think the Blazers viewed him as a star in the making. “I wish I could say that,” Aldridge said to Holmes. “I want to give you that story so bad. But I’m trying to tell you, they did not believe in me in the beginning. I was a ‘project.'”
After losing most of his season to shoulder surgery, Utah’s Alec Burks is looking forward to next year, reports Ryan McDonald of The Deseret News. The surgical procedure came just two months after Burks agreed to a four-year, $42MM extension with the Jazz. “It was tough,” he said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that missing so many games, but I learned a lot. I’ll be able to play next year, and I can’t wait.”

Northwest Notes: Brooks, Jazz, Wolves

April 24th, 2015 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey says that the team has a number of options to consider this offseason as the franchise looks to take its next step toward the playoffs, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News relays. The different scenarios that the team has come up with include trying to attract a big name free agent to add to its young core; continue building with youth through the draft; or potentially trading its first round pick this year as part of a package to acquire a veteran player, Genessy notes. “We’ll come up with something that is sound,” Lindsey said. “If sound means be bold, then we’ll do that. The Miller family is fully committed to that. … The neat thing is we have a full set of alternatives.”

Here’s more happenings from the Northwest Division:

For their part, many of the Jazz‘s players would be happy to have the same roster as this season return for 2015/16, Genessy adds. “I think the group is really excited. It’s super young. I think we’re really just scratching the surface of what can happen,” forward Joe Ingles said. “The future’s there. The guys work hard. The coaches probably work even harder behind the scenes. Everyone’s excited.” Of course, Ingles may be a touch biased in his desire for the roster to remain intact, since he is eligible to become a restricted free agent this offseason if Utah tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,045,059.
Scott Brooks‘ tenure with the Thunder had far more positives than negatives, and the organization owes much of its identity to its former coach, Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman writes. Brooks was also great at developing young talent, something the former head coach didn’t get enough credit for, Carlson adds.
Wolves executive/coach Flip Saunders said that Minnesota is going to prioritize improving its outside shooting this offseason, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Saunders acknowledged that any upgrade to the team’s outside game may have to come from developing its own players, since today’s college game is long on athleticism and short on shooters, and that often those who are the best three-point shooters lack the athleticism to play in the NBA, Zgoda relays.

Thunder Notes: Brooks, Malone, Gentry, Kanter

April 24th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Thunder GM Sam Presti admits that former coach Scott Brooks had plenty of positive influence on the franchise, and The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson believes that Brooks’ development of Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams and others is a testament to his value. Carlson argues that at full health, the team was better in 2012/13 and 2013/14 than it was when it went to the Finals in 2012, and that Brooks was central to the Thunder’s continued improvement. While we wait to see if Oklahoma City’s next coach wins the title that the Thunder didn’t get under Brooks, here’s more from OKC:

Grantland’s Zach Lowe suggests that the Thunder will take a close look at former Kings coach Michael Malone and Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry if their top choices don’t pan out. Kevin Ollie, one of those reported top targets, has pulled out of the running.
There was little grounds for termination in this injury-plagued season for the Thunder and Brooks, Lowe argues in the same piece, contending that if the Thunder had decided he wasn’t fit to lead them to a championship, they should have reached that conclusion earlier. The Grantland scribe wonders if the cost of paying off more than one year of Brooks’ contract made Oklahoma City hesitate to make the move sooner.
Accountability from players had become a problem in Oklahoma City under Brooks, sources tell Royce Young of ESPN.com, but the team’s move to cut ties with the coach is about the future and not the past, Young writes. The stakes are high as Kevin Durant enters a contract year, and the Thunder won’t settle for continuity, as Young details.
It’s no surprise that the Thunder would want to hold on to soon-to-be restricted free agent Enes Kanter, who excelled after the midseason trade that brought him to Oklahoma City, and Presti envisions the big man sticking around, as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater relays. “We wouldn’t have traded for him if we didn’t feel like we’d be in a position to have him with us going forward,” Presti said. Kanter has expressed a desire to stay, though he just underwent left knee surgery that will sideline him for four to six weeks.

Thunder Coaching Rumors: Donovan, Messina

April 23rd, 2015 at 5:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

A third NBA head coaching vacancy opened Wednesday when the Thunder cut ties with Scott Brooks, and college coaches Billy Donovan and Kevin Ollie have emerged as perhaps the most prominent candidates. We’ll round up the latest on the Thunder’s search here, with any additional updates added to the top:

While Donovan is the current favorite to land the Thunder’s coaching position, Spurs assistant Ettore Messina is also on the team’s list of candidates, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

1:18pm update:

“Very personal reasons” have led Ollie to call Presti and tell him he wouldn’t take the job, a source told Zagoria. A second source said to Zagoria that the Thunder made it clear that they were indeed interested, but there were a variety of reasons why Ollie decided against it.

12:10pm update:

Ollie has “removed himself from consideration” for the Thunder job, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link; hat tip to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman). Given the doubt that lingered Wednesday even after Ollie issued his statement that he would stay at Connecticut, it’s unclear if that completely closes any reasonable chance that Ollie will end up in the Oklahoma City job.

12:00pm update:

“All signs point to” Donovan becoming the next Thunder coach, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who hears sentiments similar to those that Marc Stein of ESPN.com heard earlier this spring indicating that the Florida coach is ready to jump to the NBA. Donovan, a friend of Thunder GM Sam Presti, is tired of recruiting and while he would jump to the NBA only for a winning situation and a GM he knows and trusts, as a person who knows Donovan tells Berger, the Thunder fit the bill. Donovan would seek a deal worth $25MM over five years, or similar terms, league sources tell Berger.
Donovan doesn’t have the credibility or relationship with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook that Ollie does, a source points out to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. The same source who earlier identified Ollie as the Thunder’s No. 1 target tells Zagoria that Ollie is “listening” as Oklahoma City pursues him, despite Ollie’s statement from Wednesday in which he indicated that he would remain at Connecticut. The source also suggests to Zagoria that if the Thunder’s next coach can’t manage the two-superstar dynamic between Durant and Westbrook to Durant’s liking, last year’s MVP will leave in free agency next summer.
Durant expressed “100%” support for the team’s decision to part ways with Brooks but said the news was difficult to take and lauded Brooks for his mentorship on and off the court, as the injured star posted on his Instagram account.

Sam Presti On Brooks, Coaching Search

April 22nd, 2015 at 10:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder fired coach Scott Brooks earlier today after the team failed to make the playoffs this season. GM Sam Presti held a press conference this evening to address the team letting Brooks go, as well as what the future holds for the franchise. Here are some of the highlights from Presti’s media session as relayed by Royce Young of Daily Thunder, who has more where this came from in his transcription.

On letting Brooks go:

“I want to stress this decision is not connected or related the results of last season. In fact, I’m not sure that anybody could’ve done a better job than what Scott was able to do and what the team was able to do given the circumstances we encountered. Change in organizations are necessary at times. As much as continuity is required for lasting success, change and transition are the engine for progress and evolution. And so we’re embracing that change and looking toward the next stage of our development of our organization in Oklahoma City.”

On the timing of Brooks’ firing:

“I looked at the option and studied the option of Scott returning very closely. But it would’ve been entering the final year of a four-year contract and after a lot of thought and deliberation, and although I think Scott would’ve been very comfortable coaching on that, I did not feel we were in a position to make another long-term commitment based on what I felt was simply a natural need for transition.”

On whether or not the team would consider hiring a college coach to replace Brooks:

“We’re not going to limit ourselves, or limit the scope of people we would look at for this position. It’s going to, at the end of the day, be directed by the vision of our team, the values of our organization, and the best person we feel like can assume a leadership role for this organization going forward. Not based on one season, but someone we feel like can re-establish our continuity and who is a fit for so many aspects of what it is here.”

On what the franchise is looking for in its next coach:

“We’ve got a pretty clear identity of the type of person and specific vision for that role going forward, but I’m hesitant to speak directly about it because I don’t want to get into comparing and contrasting what we’re looking for and what we had in that position prior in Scott. The team is a local team that competes nationally. It has a civic purpose to it, I believe, because it exists for the people. Because of the people that come every night. So to work here in a position like a head coach, I think it’s important that person really embraces the overall purpose of the work that gets done with the Thunder and I think it’s a privilege to work here for that reason.”

On the pressure the next coach will be under in 2015/16:

“Certainly, heading into that season, listen, we understand there will be an incredible amount of attention paid to next season. There will be a lot of different distractions that will be our job to try and manage. Not to eliminate, but try to manage so that we can play our best basketball. I think at times, the risk is not in moving forward, but I think the risk can be in being fearful of moving forward. If you identify somebody you feel like can help the organization that is a good fit here, I believe that’s kind of part of the job. But no matter what the circumstances are we have to be able to put it in the proper place and understand we have to play good basketball knowing there will be an interpretation [of] anything that happens outside, or what the weather is, or those types of things. But we’re prepared for that to the best of our ability and we’ll go about our business that way.”

Western Notes: Hill, Kanter, Warriors

April 22nd, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During his exit interview with Jordan Hill, Lakers coach Byron Scott told the big man that he wasn’t happy with the consistency of his efforts this season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News relays. “He was disappointed he didn’t see that energy,” Hill said. “That’s something else I need to work on.” It’s unclear if the franchise will exercise its $9MM team option on Hill, Medina adds. The team is focusing on the draft and free agency before making decisions on its current roster, something that Hill understands, Medina notes. “It’s going to be a big offseason for the Lakers,” Hill said. “It’s up in the air right now. They don’t know what’s going to happen. I have to stay positive and hope everything will fall into place.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Enes Kanter has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, knocking him out of action for four-to-six weeks, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman relays. The big man can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Thunder tender him a qualifying offer worth $7,471,412.
The Warriors as a team are influenced by both former coach Mark Jackson and current coach Steve Kerr emotionally, but it is the emergence as Stephen Curry as a leader that has put the team over the top this season, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes.
Clint Capela has unexpectedly stepped into the Rockets‘ playoff rotation and has risen to the challenge after being used sparingly all season, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “He’s a good kid,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He plays hard all the time. Nothing bothers him. Whether he had a really good last play or a really bad last play, he plays hard on the next play. That’s key. You do that, and you don’t drag all your baggage with you down the floor because you missed a shot or if you don’t defend.“

Fallout From Firing Of Scott Brooks

April 22nd, 2015 at 5:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder GM Sam Presti was adamant that Scott Brooks wasn’t paying the price for the team’s injury riddled campaign, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com writes. “It is very important to state that this decision is not a reflection of this past season,” Presti said, “but rather an assessment of what we feel is necessary at this point in time in order to continually evolve, progress and sustain. We determined that, in order to stimulate progress and put ourselves in the best position next season and as we looked to the future, a transition of this kind was necessary for the program.”

Here’s more chatter regarding Brooks’ dismissal:

Brooks doesn’t appear to be on the Timberwolves’ radar to replace Flip Saunders, which would allow Saunders to concentrate on his front office duties, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune tweets. The agreement that Saunders, who also serves as president of basketball operations, made to coach the team is open-ended in terms of length. But team owner Glen Taylor has indicated that his team would be healthier in the long run if it signed a top-notch coach and Saunders was strictly an executive.
Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press concurs with Zgoda’s assessment, tweeting that Brooks isn’t likely to be the one to get Saunders to leave behind his bench duties in Minnesota.
The Thunder have been trying to get Kevin Ollie to leave UConn for over a year, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv writes. Despite loving his job and being loyal to the school, if Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook want Ollie there as coach to make a run at a title, he wouldn’t be able to pass it up, a league source told Zagoria.
The wording in the Thunder’s press release regarding Brooks’ dismissal read like the franchise was attempting to justify firing the coach to itself, Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press tweets.
The firing of Brooks has placed the onus to retain Durant when he hits free agency squarely on Presti, Ben Golliver of SI.com writes. By parting ways with Brooks, the GM is trying to show Durant that he is proactive, and that he is willing to be as aggressive regarding the coaching staff as he is in pulling the trigger on trades, Golliver adds.
Former Kings coach Michael Malone is a darkhorse candidate to take over as coach of the Thunder, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. While the Oklahoman scribe isn’t sure if OKC has interest in Malone, he does opine that Malone’s skill with coaching younger players would make him an excellent fit for the Thunder.

Latest On Thunder, Kevin Ollie, Billy Donovan

April 22nd, 2015 at 2:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:27pm: Either Ollie or Billy Donovan, another strong candidate for the now-vacant Thunder job, would quickly pull out if Oklahoma City contacted the other, Wojnarowski tweets.

1:58pm: Ollie has “significant interest” in the Thunder job in spite of his statement today, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com earlier expressed doubt about the idea that the statement put the kibosh on the idea that Ollie would coach the Thunder next season (Twitter link).

9:23am: A source told Zagoria on Tuesday night that Ollie was the Thunder’s top coaching target and that the Thunder were “fully committed” to their attempt to convince him to jump, regardless of the cost of his buyout from UConn. It’s unclear where the Thunder stand with Ollie in the wake of his statement this morning, but Zagoria’s source on Tuesday described Ollie as “torn.” The source also told Zagoria that the Thunder pursued Ollie last year, and that he turned them down then.

WEDNESDAY, 8:48am: Ollie will remain at UConn and has no plans to work elsewhere, the coach said in a statement today, according to The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 2:27pm: The Thunder are seriously considering University of Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie as a successor for Scott Brooks, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Ollie, who’s close to Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti and also has strong ties to former teammate Kevin Durant, recommitted to the Huskies with a new deal last year that would require him to pay the school $4MM if he were to leave for the NBA.

People close to Brooks have their doubts about his job security, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last week. The Thunder are expected to “spend time evaluating the partnership” between Brooks and the franchise before deciding whether to bring him back next season, though he’s under contract for 2015/16 with a team option for 2016/17, Wojnarowski wrote.

Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka have nonetheless all expressed support for Brooks in recent days, though the three were teammates of Ollie, who spent his final season playing in the NBA with the Thunder in 2009/10. Ollie guided Connecticut to the national championship in 2014 and was a hot commodity shortly thereafter. The Cavs were reportedly the most aggressive NBA team in pursuit, while some thought that a team might hire Ollie to try to lure Durant, who’s set for free agency in 2016. Ollie was reportedly seeking a contract worth more than $25MM over five years to make the jump to the NBA. His deal with Connecticut is a five-year, $15MM pact.

Thunder Fire Scott Brooks

April 22nd, 2015 at 12:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have parted ways with coach Scott Brooks, the team announced via press release. A league source told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports moments earlier that the team had fired the coach. GM Sam Presti gave Brooks the news today, Wojnarowski tweets. Brooks becomes a top candidate for the Magic and Nuggets coaching vacancies, the Yahoo! scribe adds (on Twitter). University of Florida coach Billy Donovan is a “natural favorite” to succeed Brooks, though the team’s top target as of Tuesday was reportedly University of Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie, who issued a statement today that he had no interest in leaving the school. Donovan is expected to become a serious candidate, Wojnarowski hears, seconding Stein, and Donovan has done background research on Kevin Durant, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

“This is an extremely difficult decision on many levels. Scott helped establish the identity of the Thunder and has earned his rightful place in the history of our organization through his seven years as a valued leader and team member,” Presti said in the team’s statement. “As we all know, this past year we had unique and challenging circumstances and as I have conveyed, not many people could have accomplished what Scott and this team were able to. Therefore, it is very important to state that this decision is not a reflection of this past season, but rather an assessment of what we feel is necessary at this point in time in order to continually evolve, progress and sustain.

“We determined that, in order to stimulate progress and put ourselves in the best position next season and as we looked to the future, a transition of this kind was necessary for the program. We move forward with confidence in our foundation and embrace the persistence and responsibility that is required to construct an elite and enduring basketball organization capable of winning an NBA championship in Oklahoma City.”

Brooks was under contract with the Thunder through next season and with a team option for 2016/17. Wojnarowski reported last week that several people close to the coach had doubts about his security in the job that he’d held since early in the 2008/09 season. Presti didn’t consult with Thunder players before making the move to let go of Brooks, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka all expressed their support for Brooks in the wake of Wojnarowski’s story last week.

It’s no surprise to see Brooks linked to the Magic, given that Orlando GM Rob Hennigan was working with Brooks in the Thunder organization when the Magic hired him in 2012. There are strong links between Presti and Donovan, too, as Presti has made two hires for the Thunder from Donovan’s staff, notes Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Brooks went 338-207 in parts of seven seasons with the Thunder and helped the team to the Finals in 2012. Still, he endured frequent criticism of his lineups and in-game strategy. Injuries befell the Thunder in the last two postseasons, and prolonged absences for Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and others derailed another shot at contention this season for the Thunder, who finished 45-37 and out of the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Bhamara, Jazz, Brooks

April 21st, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Satnam Singh Bhamara, a 7’1” 290-pound player from India, is considering declaring for the 2015 NBA Draft, Pete Thamel of SI.com writes. While the 19-year-old is unlikely to be selected this June, Bhamara is considered India’s best chance for producing its first NBA player, Thamel notes. Sim Bhullar became the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA this past season, but Bhullar was born in Canada.

Bhamara will be represented by both Relativity Sports and WME/IMG, and his advisers felt the best course of action for the player would be to develop and refine his skills instead of attending a junior college, the SI scribe adds. “I do think he’ll end up in the NBA because I’ve seen his progress over the last four years,” said IMG Director of Basketball Kenny Natt. “I’ve been in the league and know how guys like Satnam are looked upon. He has size, strength and touch. He has good hands and can run the floor. Those are the types of things that NBA teams value.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey‘s moves have resulted in Utah notching a record of 19-10 after the All-Star break, and the team being on the rise heading into the 2015/16 season, Doug Robinson of The Deseret News writes. Robinson points to the hiring of coach Quin Snyder, the selection of Dante Exum in the 2014 NBA draft, and matching the Hornets’ offer sheet to Gordon Hayward last summer as some of Lindsey’s recent successes.
History is not on Thunder coach Scott Brooks‘ side in regards to retaining his job, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Tramel points to a number of instances where long-tenured coaches were replaced mainly to provide a new voice for the players, and the teams experiencing an uptick in performance as a result.
The Knicks‘ difficult season at least allowed Carmelo Anthony to have surgery without impacting his team’s postseason chances, a luxury ‘Melo wouldn’t have had if he signed with a different franchise last summer, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “It was at a point if this was any other team he had to gone to, then they’d be taking away a lot of playoff hopes,’’ team president Phil Jackson said. “In our situation it was something he could do and we could accept it and move forward because next year was a real important year for him to come back and play at the highest level he can play at.’’