The Oklahoma City Thunder have only had two coaches since the franchise moved cities, and now both of them have been fired.
P.J. Carlesimo was the coach in Seattle and was fired after a 1-12 start in the team’s first season in Oklahoma City. One of his assistants at the time, Scott Brooks, took over on an interim basis and became the team’s head coach for the next six and a half seasons until getting fired Wednesday.
Speaking in response to the Thunder’s move, Carlesimo, now an analyst for ESPN, ripped the decision.
“They made it impossible for Scott Brooks to coach. Terrible, terrible decision. He did a great job. If they were gonna do this they should have … what would have happen if Kevin Durant played and they were a 1-, 2- or 3-seed, which they would have been and still been playing? Would they’ve changed direction because they don’t like the way it’s going,” Carlesimo said via The Oklahoman.
“It’s just a very poor decision; a very unfortunate decision.”
Though Carlesimo is defending his former assistant,this was the right move. The Thunder had an excellent run under Brooks and reached two conference finals and the NBA Finals, but they could have done more with a better coach. Brooks will get a new job elsewhere, while the Thunder have the chance to lock in a coach who can take them to the next level. More importantly, they can get a new coach in there before it’s time for Kevin Durant to become a free agent.
Durant also shared thoughts on the firing and expressed warm feelings towards Brooks while saying he supported the organization’s decision.
