Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 candidates to replace Billy Donovan as head coach

4. Brett Brown

Brett Brown was a tremendously positive influence during one of the biggest tank jobs in NBA history, and he wasn’t the right coach for the Philadelphia 76ers once they turned the page to contending with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons; both can be true.

However, just because Brown was routinely outsmarted by Brad Stevens and Nick Nurse in the Sixers’ playoff series over the last few years doesn’t mean he’s unworthy of an interview with the Thunder. OKC doesn’t need him to outwit playoff coaches right now; it needs him to sustain a winning culture for a group of youngsters that wasn’t around during the days of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Kevin Durant and James Harden.

As such, the Thunder should do their due diligence on such a well-respected and well-liked head coach — especially one who’s helmed one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history and knows a thing or two about guiding developing players into playoff battles.

His 221-344 record (.391) with the 76ers isn’t indicative of his true coaching ability, since the first 3-4 years of his tenure were spent enduring “The Process” as one of the franchise’s few sources of stability. The Thunder don’t need to hire a coach who’s prepared for NBA Finals runs just yet, but rather, someone to build a stable foundation. Now that he’s available, Brown is one of the more attractive options out there and superior to any of the big-name former head coaches that keep getting drudged up from the depths.