Brooks could have been coaching Kings
With the Sacramento Kings in town, I wrote a what-if column for today’s paper. What if the Thunder had drafted Tyreke Evans, the likely rookie of the year, instead of James Harden?
But there’s another what-if anytime the Kings and Thunder share a court. What if the Kings had hired Scott Brooks when they interviewed him in June 2007? Sacramento hired Reggie Theus instead, then fired him in the middle of last season. Brooks became the Thunder head coach in November 2008, after P.J. Carlesimo’s 1-12 start.
Brooks grew up 45 miles south of Sacramento, in Lathrop, Calif. His mother and siblings still live there. To coach the Kings, an NBA team so close to home, would have been a dream job.
“At that time, it was a disappointment,” Brooks said. “I got a great opportunity from Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs (brothers who own the franchise). They put me on the map, giving me a great experience. I’d never interviewed for a job. It was a dream job for a coach.”
But sometimes you have to thank God for unanswered prayers. The Kings were a mess in the summer of 2007. They were coming off a 33-49 season, and under Theus they went 38-44, then went 17-65 in the season that got fired Theus fired. I thought Theus was a bad hire. He was coaching at New Mexico State, and the Kings seemed to be reaching out for something in their past. Theus had been a Kings star in the 1980s. Brooks was a young up-and-comer, but I don’t know that he would have fared any better. Seems likely that Brooks would have been jettisoned last season, just like Theus was.
Instead, Brooks landed in Seattle as Carlesimo’s assistant, came to Oklahoma City with the franchise move and took over last season and turned the Thunder into something we could stand to live with. Now he’s turned the Thunder into perhaps the NBA’s best story. The Thunder is on pace for an historic, 27-win improvement.
“I’m thankful I’m here,” Brooks said. “It’s a great place to be. Sam (Presti, general manager) and Clay Bennett and the ownership group gave me a chance.”
As I wrote, it was impossible to watch Thunder-Kings without trying to figure how Evans could have fit into the Thunder puzzle. The Thunder had the No. 3 pick in the 2009 draft. It went with Harden. The Kings, picking fourth, were thrilled to grab Evans.
I don’t think Evans would have been a great fit in OKC. He and Westbrook are too similar; both need the ball in their hands to be the stars they are. Westbrook, surprise, is the more pure point guard (not that either are pure), so it would have been Evans who moved over.
The Kings actually start a pure point guard, Beno Udrih, but that’s window dressing. Evans is their point guard. The Kings throw him the ball, and he initiates the offense, usually by driving to the basket, navigating through the obstacle course of NBA defenses and either getting the ball up on the rim or getting fouled.
Westbrook wasn’t all that interested in biting on the comparison, but Evans, a rookie out of Memphis, said, “Two good players who play the same. We both like to drive to the basket and get a lot of fouls called. He is quick. It was a good matchup. He’s probably got a lot more speed on me.”
Westbrook has played sensational. He was a candidate for NBA Western Conference player of the month for February and was even better in his first March appearance, totaling 30 points and 13 assists vs. the Kings. “Russell’s making passes I don’t even see,” Brooks said. “The unselfish plays Russell’s making, he’s making them every game now.”
It would have been an experimental lab, meshing Westbrook and Evans together. I don’t see how it would have worked. Seems to me the Thunder is much better off with James Harden as a role player who might grow into something really good, too.
“Tyreke’s a terrific player,” Brooks said. “But we’re happy with what we have in James. He’s improved, and he fits our team well. We like his playmaking ability. His ability to handle the ball. His playing off the ball. His 3-point threat.”
If the Thunder had picked Evans, and he and Westbrook learned to play together, with Evans subbing at the point and otherwise playing the wing, that would have been a home run draft. But if Evans and Westbrook had not meshed, it would have been a whiff.
And Presti knew what he had and knew maybe what the rest of us didn’t know, at least not to the extent. He knew what a budding team he had at the Ford Center. A franchise that didn’t need a home run.
“I’m not going to try to general-manage their team,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “I’m just glad we have Tyreke.”
Evans soon will be an NBA All-Star. But the Thunder made the right choice.
Harden played perhaps his worst game of the season Tuesday night. Three points on 1-of-5 shooting; five fouls. Didn’t do much of anything. But overall, he’s been solid as the Thunder sixth man. “I feel great,” Harden said. “A lot of other guys (rookies), they’re scoring a lot of points, but for a not-so-good organization.”
That doesn’t describe the Thunder.
“Great young guys willing to work every single day,” Harden said. “They have something special here. The organization was doing everything right.”
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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