Donovan Not Interested in Changing Durant, Westbrook

There is a discernible buzz right now in Oklahoma City, and the reason is clear: The Thunder’s 2015-16 NBA season is about to start and the team looks like a legitimate title contender. The Thunder organization, as well as its supporters, are ready to erase the memory of last season and the ridiculous amount of injuries that occurred, and now simply focus on the return of their elite basketball team.

With the deepest-ever Thunder roster in place and all players returning healthy – including, most importantly, former league MVP Kevin Durant – championship expectations have never been higher.

Journalists gathered at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday for the team’s media day. One by one, players paraded in to face the media’s onslaught of questions about last year, the offseason and what to expect this season.

First and foremost, Durant declared: “I feel great. I’m ready to go.”

The Thunder’s decision to replace head coach Scott Brooks (who led the team for the past six seasons) with former Florida coach Billy Donovan was a topic discussed with most of the players. In fact, Basketball Insiders was the first to get Durant’s thoughts on how he is getting to know his new coach.

“It’s been fun,” Durant said. “I enjoy him. Great basketball mind, but more so, a better person. We’ve hit it off from the beginning, and [I’m] just excited to play for him. I’m excited to go through the first day of training camp with him.

“It feels like he’s a rookie. Well, he is a rookie, but he’s been coaching forever. In our league, it’s a little different, so I’m excited. I’ve built a great relationship with him, and I know it’s only going to grow by us getting on the floor.”

Durant is right. Donovan has no previous experience in the NBA at any capacity (not counting, of course, the briefest of stints in 2007 when he agreed to coach the Orlando Magic and changed his mind days later). He took the Gators to four Final Four appearances and won two national championships during his 19 years as their head coach. He’s well-respected on all fronts and, as Durant said, is known for having a great basketball mind.

Sam Presti, the Thunder’s general manager and executive vice president, pulled the trigger on the coaching change. He elected to go in a fresh direction that hopefully sends a message to his players (specifically Durant, who is in his final contract year, and Russell Westbrook, who has only one more year remaining on his contract following this one) that he’s doing everything possible to make this a title-winning team.

Donovan spoke at length about Durant and Westbrook and what he’s observed between the two.

“Those two guys have a tremendous relationship,” Donovan said. “I’ve had a chance to witness it up close and personal. I think there’s a great mutual respect and care for one another.”

When asked about balancing the two stars when they take the floor together, Donovan said something that is sure to be music to Thunder fans’ ears.

“I think the thing I would try to do as a coach and try to help those guys is to allow them to be who they are,” Donovan said. “Russell is a very, very competitive, attacking, aggressive point guard, and I think that’s what makes him special, what makes him great. So I don’t think you want to take that away from him and change who he is.

“For Kevin, I know he’s very anxious to get back on the floor and start to play again, because he hasn’t been out there in a competitive situation in quite some time. So I want to try and help him and put him in a situation where he can be effective and be who he is. I think the biggest thing is to let those guys be who they are.”

Soon after his hiring, Donovan set about meeting each of his players, understanding that creating relationships before the season begins is key.

“I spent a lot of time this summer traveling around and getting a chance to spend time with all the players,” Donovan said. “I’ve been able to do that and connect with all the players at different points during the summer. They’ve been just a great, great group of guys. Certainly with Kevin’s rehab, he was around a lot more early before he got fully cleared.”

Each of the players raved about Donovan and discussed their encounters with him.

“Obviously him coming in and trying to create a relationship with all the guys is important,” said Westbrook, who also shared he didn’t realize his level of intensity until meeting him.

“As a person, I had an opportunity to talk with him over the summer,” Serge Ibaka added. “And he’s a good guy. He wants us to get better, and he’s excited to be here. I think we’ll have a lot of fun together.”

“He seems great,” Nick Collison said. “He’s got a pretty good pulse on what’s going on, what’s gone on with our team in the past. He’s done a lot of work this summer. He’s got a lot of energy, I can sense that already.”

Collison was frank in sharing his thoughts about what Donovan can bring to the table with his mix of college basketball experience and newness to the NBA.

“I really won’t know until we get in the season,” Collison admitted. “I think he’s a real high-energy guy, and he’s also very experienced. I feel like our organization does a real good job with providing everything we need. I think they do a lot of work in everything they do, so I assume a coaching change, they put a lot of work into that and feel good about him, so I’m going to put a lot of faith in that. I’ve had quite a few meetings with him already, and I like what he’s talking about. [We’ll] see how it goes. I’ve had a lot of coaches before, so the one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t really know until you get into it, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Collison was the only player who spoke directly about former head coach Scott Brooks.

“I really appreciate what Coach Brooks did, and he is a great coach,” Collison said. “He was always fair with me and honest with me, and I had a lot of really good years playing for him. I really enjoyed my time with him, but I understand that things change sometimes. Those are decisions for the front office and the ownership to make and they’ve made theirs. Now, I’ll get to know a new coach. I’m excited about it, and there will be things that are done differently, so it will be interesting to see what we do. Scotty was here a long time compared to a lot of NBA coaches’ tenure. I’m used to playing for different guys and knowing that it’s going to be different.”

The Thunder also revamped the coaching staff surrounding their lead man, adding several talented assistant coaches in former New Orleans Pelicans head coach Monty Williams, Maurice Cheeks and Donovan’s longtime Florida assistant coach (and former VCU and Alabama coach) Anthony Grant.

“I’m really excited about our staff,” Donovan said. “Certainly, as coaches, their resumes and track records speak for themselves, but they are just incredible people. I’m excited to work with them every day. I think over the last several months with the amount of time we’ve been able to spend with each other, I feel like there’s really good staff chemistry. There’s a high level of humility inside that room in terms that we feel like we can take things from each other and make us better.”

Donovan said he felt humbled by his relocation to Oklahoma City and by his reception in the heartland.

“I think when you’ve been at a place for 19 years and you’ve established so many different relationships, and now you walk into a completely unknown city, an unknown environment, no ties with Oklahoma at all and in talking with Sam and Mr. [Clay] Bennett before I was hired, they talked a great deal about the people of Oklahoma,” Donovan said. “[I’m] humbled from the fact that people will go out of their way [to help with the transition]. Like they have helped my wife and helped my kids with schools and helped us find a home.”

It’s a new era for the Thunder as they begin the season with a new coaching staff and some players who have yet to play with one another (for example, Durant and Enes Kanter). Chemistry between players and coaches may take a bit of time to develop, but all involved are motivated to make it happen quickly. A first good step, which Donovan is taking, is to let your stars be who they are.