Washington Wizards: What Will Scott Brooks Add?

By Nithin Kuchibhotla | Apr 30, 2016

Nov 14, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks reacts to a play in action against the Detroit Pistons at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Washington Wizards: What Will Brooks Bring?

Aside from a scattered Twitter rant, I haven’t really expanded too much on Scott Brooks replacing Randy Wittman as the next head coach of the Washington Wizards. Although there’s no doubt this is an upgrade from the previous tenure (even John Wall as a player-coach would probably qualify as such), there is a little more nuance to it that should be explored.

Brooks helped develop one of the most powerful teams in the NBA, guiding the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 338-207 (.620 winning percent) in his 7 seasons there.

Obviously it helps to have players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in tow, but there’s no question Brooks did his part to unlock the most potential from what are now three of the six or seven best players in the league.

There was a fair share of criticism as well, as Brooks often ran head-scratching offensive sets (especially late in game) but seeing what the Thunder are doing under Billy Donovan now makes you wonder if that’s just the only way coaches know how to scheme when you have two offensive dynamos in Durant and Westbrook.

Brooks probably got canned from OKC as a culmination of playoff failures, but I imagine if the team had made the playoffs last year and advanced as far as they should’ve, then he’d still be coaching. It didn’t help that Durant played in just 27 games, leaving an exhausted Westbrook to somehow muster up 45 wins and lose out on the playoffs to the Pelicans due to a tiebreaker.

Fast forward one year later, and OKC’s pain is Washington’s gain – we hope.

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Brooks signed a mammoth five-year, $35 million deal, making him the third highest paid coach who doesn’t also share in basketball operation duties.

It was quite unlike resident king of frugality Ted Leonsis to shell out that kind of cash for a coach, and even weirder that his yes man, Ernie Grunfeld, didn’t even bother to interview another candidate.

But they clearly liked what they saw in Brooks, and while I definitely have my doubts and consider it to be a somewhat unimaginative move, I can understand the logic and actually expect a pretty decent outcome from this decision.

As touched on above, I think the biggest positive to be extracted from Books is his ability to develop talent, which is clearly something Washington has not done over the last three or four years.

Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, and Kelly Oubre are all missing key pieces of their games, which if achieved could turn them all collectively into the next Paul George (I’m kidding, you haters).

Wall is another case altogether.

Clearly, he was able to achieve stardom despite of the coaching staff but there is no question he has another gear to hit to be considered truly elite.

Brooks touched on as much in his press conference and if there is a way to channel what he did with Westbrook to Wall then we might be looking at the next member of the NBA App-llegiance commercials.

Defensively, the Thunder always maintained top five billing in the league, of course aided by an alien from outer space in Serge Ibaka and some type of no offense-all defense shooting guard. However, there were a lot of factors in place from Brooks and his squad that could be used in Washington.

Although Westbrook can be an undisciplined defender, he creates havoc in passing lanes and if anyone is up for that role, it would be Wall.

Porter, like Durant suffers from a really thin frame, but there are ways to disrupt the defense with length instead of strength and he’ll have to learn how to do so. And Beal has always had the athleticism to be a great two-way player but can’t seem shake his lesser height.

Lastly, while Wittman was instrumental in developing a no-nonsense approach to the Washington Wizards locker room, he also rubbed off on guys the wrong way with his abrasive personality.

When the locker room was filled with guys like Andray Blatche and Nick Young, that type of mentality was needed. But with the professionals on the team now, it just doesn’t make sense to treat them that way.

Brooks happens to be a prototypical players’ coach – one who relates with his guys, but earns their respect as well so they don’t look to take advantage. That’ll be instrumental in developing bonds with guys like Marcin Gortat and Beal who are probably tired of being criticized at every turn.

There’s a lot to like about this hire, but also a lot to question.

Has Brooks gotten better offensively in his year off? He spent months traveling the country and the world, watching different styles of play and it seems foolish to think coaches can’t improve their craft over time. The jury is still out however on whether that’ll translate to the hardwood over the course of a full season.

Ultimately, maybe none of this matters because Grunfeld is still the one making personnel decisions. But Brooks having more of a hand in those moves is encouraging, if only that it’s someone other than Grunfeld helping call the shots.

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Is this a good hire? Time will tell, but for now I can’t complain. The Wizards found their man, and went hard to get him. That kind of conviction at the very least is unnatural, but maybe a sign of things to come.

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