Scott Brooks signs four year deal with Oklahoma City Thunder - Examiner.com

Oklahoma City Thunder fans can breathe easy again. With a number of rumors swirling, including one involving the division rival Portland Trail Blazers, Scott Brooks and the Thunder came to an agreement on July 3 and the head coach will remain in Oklahoma City.

Some people balk at the price the Thunder paid to keep their head coach, a head turning $4.5 million a year, but he proved he deserves the raise. He is getting paid what Mike Brown makes in Los Angeles and Rick Carlisle makes in Dallas. He beat both of those men in the 2012 postseason.

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“My job is to get better,” Brooks said at the press conference. “I'm not going to stand up here and say I'm great.”

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But the fact is that he is great. He took one of the worst teams in the NBA, a laughing stock that left Seattle for Oklahoma City, beaten, broken and down and out. However, when the Thunder made a change in the middle of their first season and named Brooks the head coach, something happened and they started winning.

Yes, they brought Kevin Durant and Nick Collison with them. However, Russell Westbrook came along and successfully transitioned from a shooting guard into an All-Star point guard. James Harden became the best sixth man in the NBA. Serge Ibaka developed into the best shot blocker in all of basketball. Suddenly, the Thunder were no longer laughing stocks but championship contenders.

Brooks took the team to a first round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in his first full season as head coach. In his second season, he made it past that round before falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. In his third year, he won that series and made it to the NBA Finals, where the team lost to the Miami Heat. He has led the Thunder to the top of the NBA food chain.

“Although we've had a lot of change in personnel over time, the consistency and habits that have been formed are a credit to Scott,” General Manager Sam Presti said. “He's been integral to building those habits.”

Brooks now has a four year deal worth $18 million and that means the Thunder hope he leads them to that final step, bringing an NBA Championship to Oklahoma City.

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