The Oklahoma City Thunder appear close to hiring Florida’s Billy Donovan as their new head coach. Donovan would replace Scott Brooks, who enjoyed a tremendous amount of success with the Thunder, but never a championship. When healthy, Oklahoma City is one of the best teams in the NBA. The trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka is formidable in theory, however injuries reduced the trio to a Westbrook solo act for most of the season.

It wasn’t sustainable. The Thunder missed the playoffs and Brooks was shown the door.

The 2015-16 season is pivotal for Oklahoma City for reasons greater than wins and losses. Durant has one season remaining before he enters free agency. Westbrook has two. The Thunder have a year to convince Durant that this is where he belongs for the rest of his career, and perhaps his presence alone will be enough to retain Westbrook.

Other cities have faced this year of courting by signing new talent, stockpiling money, bringing in celebrities, and the end results have been mixed. For every 2010 Miami, there is a 2010 Cleveland. There is very real scenario in which 2017 Oklahoma City finds itself in an NBA Finals. They could be playing for a lottery pick as well.

Hiring Donovan would be brilliant for several reasons. Yes, it provides an exciting new presence in the locker room, and one that could very well inspire Kevin Durant to remain. Donovan has proven himself over the course of 20 years to be one of the best college coaches in the game. His is a reputation reports say Durant respects.

But what if Durant leaves? What if Westbrook leaves? What becomes of Oklahoma City if the foundation of their team suddenly crumbles in a year?

That’s the beauty of the Donovan hire. Should Durant and Westbrook remain, the Thunder will have an elite core of players and a talented coach. If they depart, the Thunder still have a talented coach.

Ask the Boston Celtics about the impact a talented coach can have on an average team. The season began with talks of tanking the Celtics. It ended with Brad Stevens guiding them into the playoffs.

Regardless of what happens, the Thunder need eyes on the future. Donovan can lead them there, with or without Durant.