The New York Knicks fired Derek Fisher less than two years into his stint as the head coach. Since then, a lot of the talk surrounding the Knicks has been about who the next head coach might be. There have been a lot of names thrown into the ring to potentially fill the vacancy, but one name to keep an eye on is former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks, who is a candidate according to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
The Thunder fired Brooks after last season, and since then, he has remained quiet. Brooks' name has not really come up in connection to other job openings despite the fact that there are many of them, and that is a surprise. Brooks was a backup point guard for the Knicks in 1996-97, so he does have a minor connection to the organization, but the Knicks interest in him is based on one thing, and that is his ability to bring Kevin Durant to New York.
The Knicks have been led to believe that hiring Brooks would give them a better chance to sign Durant this offseason when he hits free agency, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York. The firing of Fisher, Durant's close friend, probably made the Knicks' pursuit of Durant take a hit, as Fisher was expected to be a big factor in Durant's free agency.
Regardless of the Durant situation, it is hard to imagine that Knicks president Phil Jackson will allow the potential to sign a free agent impact who he hires next. Brooks does not have ties to Jackson, and that may end up being the biggest factor in whether he is actually considered for the job.
Even if Jackson doesn't want to let Durant influence his decision-making process, he should probably consider Brooks because he is a good coach. Brooks has a .620 career winning percentage, has been to an NBA Finals, two Western Conference finals and has won 39 career playoff games. Yes, Brooks had the luxury of coaching Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, among others, but he was also key in the development of those stars.
It seems like Tom Thibodeau is the name that is brought up the most for the Knicks job, and he reportedly wants it very badly. The Knicks will have a long list of candidates to choose from, and Brooks should be one of them, not because of the Durant situation, because he is a good coach. The Durant situation is just an added bonus.
