We have always assumed that having a coach that got along well with Durant and Westbrook was imperative. Which I guess it is. But what about a coach that Durant and Westbrook respect? In a basketball sense. What if this firing/hiring is about producing the very best basketball it possibly can, as a means of showing Durant and Westbrook this is the place to be?

Bill: " After reading your excellent Sunday piece, it confirmed what I said the other day. Presti has a timetable and it didn’t include Brooks. Brooks was not in Presti’s future. Who knows how much KD’s free agency is playing in all of this, but it is playing a role. Before KD’s career starts on the downside, Presti wants to ensure KD and Westbrook have the players necessary to win it all."

Everyone likes Brooks. And the firing might backfire. The truth about Brooks is there's a lot more for regression than progression. Doesn't seem likely that the Thunder will stumble, but there's an abyss below OKC's established standard and not a lot of room above. Brooks' success rate was outstanding.

Jim: "They should have seriously considered (firing) the general manager, Sam Presti. Was Scott his scapegoat? Scott did a real good job handling all the injured players, and no one has critiqued the yo-yo alternatives Sam brought through such as Reggie Jackson and others for Scott to try and make something out of."

First off, no one has critiqued the players? That's absurd. The players get critiqued on a daily basis, and few players were critiqued more than was Reggie Jackson. But here's a question. Did Brooks do a good job with the massive injuries? You know what might have been the turning point for Presti's belief in Brooks? The 3-12 start. With no Durant and no Westbrook, there was no confidence that the Thunder could tread water. But 3-12? Four or five of those games, the Thunder had literally no chance to win -- opponent too good, injury list too long -- but some of those results were discouraging, like the home loss to Detroit when the Pistons were a total mess. Brooks didn't exactly scheme the Thunder to its greatest potential during that time.

Bill: "The outpouring of dismay in the wake of Scott Brooks' removal from the team is understandable. He's a truly great guy. So is Sam Presti, as far as I can tell. I believe Presti when he says changing the head coach has been the most difficult professional decision he has ever had to make. The execution of that decision was done with dignity and sensitive for all concerned, all things being considered. A wise pastor used to talk about the ABC's of faith - Action, based on Belief, supported by Confidence. That principle may be instructive for the secular, as well as for the sacred, aspects of life's journey, both for individuals and organizations. It is only natural that we now grief for the loss of Coach Scotty. In the moment, our anxiety over what that change means for the future is also real. But high anxiety about the Thunder's future existed even if Brooks had remained for the 2015-16 season. As everyone knows, come up short of an NBA championship next year and the current turmoil in Thunder Nation could escalate into unrestrained chaos. It never seemed quite fair to me that Moses only got to see the Promised Land from afar. Even with the benefit of reading the stories before and after Deuteronomy 34, it's difficult to understand fully why the Almighty chose Joshua instead to complete the mission and claim the prize. If Scott Brooks never gets a championship ring, I think that is what we, his fans, should regret the most. He deserves that honor for his grit, determination and success, both as an undersized player and as an excellent coach for a long time in the NBA. Stuff happens, I guess. But the whole is always greater than the sum of its individual parts. That's true of Coach Scotty and, yes, even Russell and KD. Ownership appears ready now to do its maximum effort by throwing open the purse strings. Management has assembled the best package of player talent ever in OKC (assuming a healthy Kevin Durant), and now is in the process of trying to optimize the coaching element of the equation. Will it work? We'll know in a year or so. Until then, how can Thunder fans and players not trust in Sam even during these painful, unsettled times? When has he not been faithful to the mission during the past? Let's all take a deep breath and move forward."