Scott Brooks Gives Wizards a Better Pitch to Free Agents Than You Think

The Washington Wizards reached an agreement with Scott Brooks on Thursday to make the former Oklahoma City Thunder top man the team’s new head coach. Per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Brooks’ contract will pay him $35 million over five years. 

It should come as no surprise that the move was immediately framed in terms of how it might impact the Wizards’ expected pursuit of Kevin Durant in free agency this summer. As Chris Mannix of The Vertical wrote following the hiring:

Durant isn’t bound for Washington, friends say, because … it’s Washington, it’s home, and, like so many athletes, Durant isn’t all that keen on returning to play in the city in which he grew up. Friends, family – some real, some claiming to be – all come out of the woodwork in those situations, and Durant, who has tightened his inner circle considerably in recent years, isn’t interested in dealing with them. His lone trip to D.C. this season was stressful, league sources told The Vertical, reinforcing to friends that wherever Durant signs next summer, Washington won’t be it.

Although the pre-existing relationship between Durant and Brooks probably doesn’t hurt, it seems unlikely that the Thunder superstar heads to Washington just because of the new coach. The Wizards will have to sell any free agent they chase on a vision of winning basketball. They’ll have to tell them how they’re building toward winning big.

On that front, Brooks brings both strengths and weaknesses to the table, but he gives this team a chance in free agency regardless of where Durant lands this summer.

Developing Talent

In OKC, Brooks showed the ability to nurture a team from its infancy to perennial contention. The Thunder won just 22 of 69 games after he took over for P.J. Carlesimo as the interim coach during the 2008-09 campaign. In the six years following that, Brooks’ squad averaged the equivalent of 54.5 wins per year.

Oklahoma City reached the NBA Finals in 2012 and went to the Western Conference Finals twice more. Were it not for injuries to Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and then Durant in three consecutive seasons (2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively), it’s entirely possible the Thunder would have more than the lone Finals trip and Brooks would still be coaching in OKC. 

While on the job, Brooks oversaw the …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com