The Wizards hired Scott Brooks for one reason: get Kevin Durant
Scott Brooks is going to be the next head coach of the Washington Wizards.
Yahoo Sports was first to report Thursday that Brooks, the former coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Washington had agreed to a five-year, $35 million deal to replace Randy Wittman as the head man in DC.
Brooks won a lot of games in Oklahoma City, but he was fired for what was perceived as perennial underachieving with the Thunder.
Theoretically, Brooks' hiring in Washington should be an upgrade over Wittman, who was also unable to progress the Wizards' for five years, but it's about something larger than that.
The Wizards didn't hire Brooks because he was the best coach available — they hired him because he can lure Kevin Durant to Washington.
The Wizards have been all-in on signing Durant this upcoming summer for at least two years. Their roster is a mess outside of John Wall, but the Eastern Conference is wide open for the foreseeable future and having two All-Star players can attract talent to D.C.
Looking forward, if Durant's goal is to win a title, moving from Oklahoma City to Washington is a lateral move.
It also carries less risk: the last thing Durant would want to do is stay in OKC long-term while Russell Westbrook bolts in 2017.
While a one-year deal to remain in OKC is still an option for the 2014 NBA MVP, Durant has been clear that he's going to fully explore free agency this summer, and there is plenty to indicate that he's interesting in working with Brooks again.
Durant was reportedly interesting in joining the Knicks — the Knicks! — if Brooks landed there this summer, according to an ESPN report:
"The Knicks have been informed that their chances of landing Kevin Durant this summer would be influenced by hiring Brooks, according to league sources."
If Durant was interested in the Knicks, the NBA's laughingstock franchise, because of Brooks, surely he'd be interested in joining Brooks and Wall in Washington.
Durant, a D.C. native, has been tied to his hometown team since at least 2013. The Wizards' front office has made financial flexibility this summer the team's top priority since at least then.
So while there has been recent speculation that Durant could join the Golden State Warriors this summer (Miami and Houston are plausible destinations as well), the Wizards have remained the most logical landing spot for Durant should he leave OKC.
But hiring Brooks, the Wizards have become the most plausible landing spot for Durant.
