Thunder Say Bye-Bye To P.J.; Brooks Named Interim Coach

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Firings

Not every man was born to be a General, society also needs those a little further down the chain of command. There are people who are meant to be Lieutenants, or Captains, who sometimes are mistakenly given a chance as the boss. That is when the trouble starts, they are over their heads and eventually chaos reigns, and that person is fired. After 500 games as an NBA head coach maybe it is time for the now former coach of the OKC Thunder, to realize he is not meant to be a General. The “Associated Press” has reported that the Oklahoma City Thunder have fired head coach P.J. Carlesimo after the team started the campaign 1-12. The club has named assistant coach Scott Brooks as interim head coach. Carlesimo was dismissed after Friday night’s loss to the New Orleans Hornets.

Brooks had a 10 year career in the Association as a guard from 1988-1998. He played for six different teams during his career. Carlesimo as coach of the team had a record of 21-74, starting at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. He had previous stints as coach with Golden State, Portland, in his 8 years as a head coach he has a record of 204-296.

Thunder General Manager Sam Presti released a statement on the firing. Presti wrote “This was a very difficult decision to make. It is one that I felt was necessary at this time. I am very appreciative of the hard work and effort that P.J. gave to this team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

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