The Oklahoma City Thunder fired Scott Brooks right after the season and went on a hunt for a head coach as soon as they did so. They found a head coach in Florida Gators basketball coach Billy Donovan. Donovan has coached for about 19 years for the Gators and has even played one year in the NBA, but has no experience coaching an NBA team. There has been a lot of controversy about this hiring for 2 reasons.
1) Sam Presti (Thunder GM) did not consult Durant or Westbrook.
2) Billy Donovan supposedly has the same coaching style as Scott Brooks.
So what does Kevin Durant think about this stuff? According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports he doesn’t mind it:
“Durant reached out to multiple former University of Florida players in the NBA to gain insight into Donovan, league sources told Yahoo Sports, and became generally positive about the hiring.
Elsewhere on the roster, how much initial enthusiasm the hiring of Donovan will bring, league sources told Yahoo Sports. For a franchise chasing short- and long-term championship aspirations, some are uncertain about a college coach’s ability to lead an immediate title push.”
I find it smart that Sam Presti did not consult Durant or Westbrook for the future of this franchise, because in a couple years, they may not want to be apart of the future of this franchise. Donovan was hired on a 5 year deal, which means he will have 5 years to figure things out in the NBA.
Let’s be honest, this 2015-2016 NBA season for the Oklahoma City Thunder is the biggest season in their franchise, because if they don’t win a franchise, their MVP, Kevin Durant, will be leaving. The following year, he will be followed by Russell Westbrook. Next season, if healthy, the Thunder, MUST win an NBA championship to keep Durant and Westbrook. That is a lot of pressure on a first year NBA coach Billy Donovan. Maybe him and Steve Kerr should meet up, because Kerr has been thriving.
