The Oklahoma City Thunder officially have no head coach just weeks after finishing the 2011-12 NBA season as the Western Conference champions. Scott Brooks contract expired at the stroke of midnight this Sunday morning, which means that Brooks can technically take some newfound leverage to the table with the Thunder front office as a free agent. Or the team could also go another direction. However, the only issue is time at this point since all parties involved are saying the right things.
After such an incredible season where the Thunder turned the corner in the NBA Playoffs and took out veteran, storied teams like the Spurs (even after being down 2-0), the Lakers and Mavericks, the team’s priority should be the stay the course and keep the core and head coach together. The attitude from team general manager Sam Presti seems to be just that.
"As we always say, the conversations themselves have to stay internal," said Presti. "But we’ve talked quite a bit about how important we feel Scott is, not only to the team but also to the organization and the fact that we wouldn’t be in this position without his contributions.
"So, I can tell you that we feel like things are progressing," he continued. "Our feelings remain consistent. And Scott, I think, has made it clear that this is an organization that he wants to be a part of and continue with. But until anything’s finalized, it would be premature for me to make any further comment."
Brooks is 174-125 in four season as the team’s head coach.
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