A column gone too soon
On Wednesday morning, I wrote a column listing several reasons why Scott Brooks should be retained as the Thunder’s head coach and given a multi-year deal.
Roughly five hours later, Thunder general manager Sam Presti announced the deal was done, promptly making the column obsolete.
You will find excerpts of that column below. There are many reasons Presti retained Brooks, and hopefully they included some of those mentioned in the column that never made it to print.
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SEVERAL REASONS TO RETAIN BROOKS AS THUNDER COACH
Now that the Thunder’s inaugural season is over, general manager Sam Presti will get bombarded with advice on whom to keep, whom not to keep and whom to get.
He’ll hear it from fans and media, but presumably not from ownership chairman Clay Bennett, who previously has promised to leave the inner workings of players and coaches to Presti.
Presti might have every intention of removing the interim label from coach Scott Brooks’ job title.
Just in case Presti is headed another direction, here are some reasons to keep Brooks as the Thunder’s head coach:
FAMILIARITY
Anyone who endures so many growing pains deserves an opportunity to watch a young team mature.
Brooks knows the Thunder players, knows what buttons to push and knows when to make them sit in timeout.
Allow Brooks to reap the rewards.
STABILITY
Since last summer, no franchise endured more changes than the Thunder.
A new home, a new identity and a new coach, all in a span of about five months.
Some stability would be nice.
AGE
When you’ve got seven players age 23 and younger on your roster, it helps to be able to speak their language.
Former Thunder coach P.J. Carlesimo is 59 years old. Brooks is 43.
Perhaps there was a generation gap between the Carlesimo and the Thunder’s younger players. Perhaps not.
The players certainly seemed to relate better to Brooks, and vice versa.
RELATIONSHIPS
Presti and Brooks seem to understand each other.
Presti gets the talent. Brooks coaches the talent.
Brooks defers to Presti about potential acquisitions and trades. Presti leaves it up to Brooks to get the most out of the hand he’s dealt.
Sounds simple enough, but such relationships are rarer than you think in pro sports.
APPRECIATION
Brooks appreciates effort.
Thunder fans appreciate Brooks.
Everyone seemed to appreciate the Thunder’s learning curve this season.
That’s a lot of appreciation.
Such relationships also are rare in pro sports.
ANTEATER
Brooks played his last two college seasons for the Cal-Irvine Anteaters.
He is the greatest NBA Anteater of all-time. He played 11 seasons when most people figured he would play zero.
He made the playoffs six times and won the world championship with the 1994 Houston Rockets.
Brooks stood 5-foot-11 and weighed a buck 65 when he played in the league.
He knows what it’s like to face long odds.
If anyone can relate to long odds, it’s the Thunder.
HOPE
Just because you have a lousy record doesn’t mean you have a lousy franchise.
There is hope with the Thunder, and Brooks helped build some of that hope.
He has earned at least one more season, perhaps several more
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