Billy Donovan hired to replace Scott Brooks as Thunder head coach

The tenure in Oklahoma City also revealed Brooks’ limitations, however, as the team got closer to the top of the mountain. How did Brooks get himself fired after his teams won over 70 percent of their games from 2011-14? By being the same coach he always was.

That was the peak of Brooks’ tenure in Oklahoma City. At that point, it seemed likely the next few years would see the Thunder dominating the West, with Durant taking on LeBron for title of world’s best player and a young roster that could only improve. Then the Harden trade happened, and Brooks was left with new young players to mentor. Instead of hitting the next level, Brooks was left trying to do the same things with a slightly less exciting roster.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti traveled to California on Wednesday to inform Brooks of the decision, Wojnarowski reports.

Presti called this an “extremely difficult decision on many levels” in a statement.