Berger: Brooks’ hiring nothing to do with KD

When Tom Thibodeau was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves, conspiracy theories didn’t follow him there. Unlike Scott Brooks, Thibodeau wasn’t characterized as merely some multi-million-dollar lure for a high-profile free agent.

Thibodeau is better than that, and so is Brooks — though that hasn’t stopped the speculation from beginning already. The logic goes something like this:

Brooks coached Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City.

Brooks is now the coach of the Washington Wizards.

Thus, Durant will sign with the Wizards when he hits free agency this summer.

Huh?

I’m not even sure where to begin with this one, except to say that if Durant wanted to play for Brooks so badly, he’d still be playing for him — in Oklahoma City. That’s no knock on Brooks; his resume from the OKC days is rock solid, which is why the Wizards hired him on Thursday to mold John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter the way he developed Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and then Serge Ibaka in Oklahoma City.

Superstars can get coaches hired and fired in the NBA, but what superstar alters his career arc specifically to play for a particular coach? Stars gravitate toward other stars, and stars who want to win gravitate toward …

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