The Washington Wizards have a new head coach, and he's a former NBA Coach of the Year. Scott Brooks, the man who helped build the Oklahoma City Thunder into one of the west's top teams, will now try to take John Wall and the Wiz to the NBA mountaintop, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Scott Brooks reportedly agrees to deal to coach Washington Wizards
Brooks was the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2010. Now he’ll have to prove he can be successful without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook running his plays.
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
The deal is reportedly for five years and $35 million, according to Wojnarowski.
Brooks was the 2010 Coach of the Year after guiding the Thunder to a 50-32 record -- a 27-game improvement over their previous season. Oklahoma City went a combined 338-207 (.620) in nearly seven full seasons with him on the bench. He was fired in 2015 after missing the playoffs despite a 45-37 record.
However, there’s a big difference between coaching a Thunder team stocked with talent and a Wizards team that has only been to the playoffs twice in the past eight seasons. While Brooks could rely on All-NBA talent like Kevin Durant,Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in Oklahoma, he’ll inherit a roster led by All-Star John Wall, useful veterans like Marcin Gortat, and intriguing but untested young players like Bradley Beal and Otto Porter.
In 2015-16, that lineup looked better on paper than it did on the court. The Wizards were projected to finish as high as third in the Eastern Conference but finished just 41-41 and missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
Now Brooks will have the opportunity to build Washington’s core into a perennial playoff powerhouse. First, he’ll have to prove he can be the architect behind an innovative offensive in the Eastern Conference. After turning a Thunder roster stocked with dynamic scorers into one of the league’s most consistent and efficient offenses early in his OKC tenure, his team slipped to 11th in the league in his final season at the helm.
Even an 11th-place finish would be a step forward for the Wizards. They haven’t finished in the top half of John Hollinger’s rankings since 2008.
The benefit for Washington is clear. The Wizards are getting a coach with NBA Finals experience, a proven track record of success, and glowing reviews from the players he coached during his first job as a head coach. The only question that remains is whether Brooks can be successful without phenoms like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook running his plays.
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