The only other head coach in Oklahoma City Thunder history, PJ Carlesimo, said the Thunder made a mistake by firing his replacement in OKC, Scott Brooks.
Brooks was fired on Wednesday after seven seasons with the team, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2012, where the team lost to the Miami Heat in five games.
Carlesimo, who is an analyst on ESPN, said on the network Wednesday that firing Brooks was the wrong decision.
“When they hang him out the dry the way they did last week, when they say ‘we’re trying to make our mind up whether to come back,’ that means you can’t coach anymore,” Carlesimo said. “You lost the players, the agents are gonna be chirping, we in the media are gonna be chirping.”
Carlesimo would continue to say:
“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? It’s just a very poor decision; a very unfortunate decision.”
Carlesimo was the first head coach in Thunder history in 2008-2009. He moved with the team from Seattle, where Scott Brooks was an assistant on his staff.
